Tool
by LadyHarpy
Summary: When they find a use for someone they will not let go, If it can help fulfill their purpose then they will get it. There is no way to avoid becoming their tool. KisamexOC
1. The Library

(A/N: So that you have an understanding of the setting of my story, it takes place before the Akatsuki was really well known or any of the tailed beasts were collected. None of the Akatsuki are dead and Tobi still known as Tobi.)

I stared out the wall of windows, rain covering it in droplets of water. This was my only sanctuary anymore, to sit among the ceiling high shelves and dark shadows until I was forced out by the night shift to go home. My job was great, to get paid to sit with some of the most important books and scrolls in the village and be allowed to read them without restriction. It really didn't matter of course since I couldn't use a single thing I learned from them since I wasn't raised to be a ninja. Hell, I was barely raised at all so it's surprising that I even gotten as far as I have. To be thought of as one of the smartest people in all of Kusagakure*, in all of grass country, it was very flattering.

However, brains only got you so far in such a small country as this. Librarian was the highest title a smart person got, the important ones going to the muscle heads. At the very least you might become an advisor but without any ninja skills to back you up it was highly unlikely. I had to crawl on my hands and knees, licking clean every boot, lighting every cigar, studying every scroll and book, to get to where I currently was and it was _definitely_ not worth it. It did not help the matter that I was technically the half daughter of the Grass Daimyo. Being his child had its perks and disadvantages. Not that I was ungrateful to my father, quite the contrary. If he hadn't decided to sleep with my mother, who was a prostitute at the time, I would have never been conceived and mom would still be giving cheap fucks to any hobo with a penny. However the fact that he was _married_ at the time made my birth all the more awkward.

To make a long story short, my dad's a horny prick that can't wait to keep it in his pants until he gets home and my mom's a cheap whore, eh, it could be worse.

I looked back what I was reading and absorbed the words like a sponge. The technique I was currently reading about was a rather strange one. It was a healing technique that could heal extreme injuries like severed arms and legs in an instant. It took up a lot of chakra though so only true blue medic ninja could try to take a stab at it. The scroll it was on was a deep yellow, from years of air exposure and possible use so it was probably out dated and possibly tossed to the side for its dangerous side effects which included either the injured ninja dying, the medic dying, or both.

I hate to openly admit it but the whole medical field had been perking my interest over the past few years, but with my lack of any chakra training I knew I wouldn't get to far, maybe just a very smart nurse or a checkup doctor for the civilians. I, however, had bigger plans than that. This is where having two older half brothers that were ninja came in handy.

"Seiyuuki*, have you gained weight?"

Speak of the devil.

I looked up to my eldest sibling, Orokashii*, a look of displeasure on my face. He always knew how to push my buttons.

"Baka, I weigh the exact same as I did the last time you asked me that question which was yesterday. Don't you have a better insult?"

"I don't need one, because every time I use it I can see it makes you angry." He replied with a cheeky grin.

I reached out to slap at him but he grabbed my wrist and slammed it down on the table I was sitting at, not hurting me, instead just holding it firm enough to keep it still. I decided to glare at him instead since there was no point in trying to break free from his strong grip. His smile widened and he moved so that he was behind me, looking over my shoulder at the scroll. He rested his head on my shoulder and his expression went from cheeky to board.

"Another medical technique? Sei-chan, why don't you ever read the good stuff when I'm around?"

"Because, as your name says, you are enough of a fool to actually try it and only Kami knows what will happen when you fuck it up."

"That's not very nice Sei-chan, and after all the chakra training I've been giving you." He said, putting an overly done pout on his lips.

I wanted to glare at him again but at the angle at which I saw him it would have been nothing more than a lazy glance. I looked past his head to see my other brother, Yurushi*.

"Leave her alone Orokashii, we have more important matters to attend to."

Yurushi was definitely the exact opposite of his name. He was a cold hearted killer when it came to being a ninja, only ever showing emotion to his steady girlfriend of three years. You'd think that for someone who wouldn't even think twice about taking a human life would be able have the balls to propose. Now as for Orokashii, his mom hit right on the nail with his name. He pulled some pretty stupid shit over the years, only able to get away with it when dad paid off whoever was in charge at the time. Compared to both, I was a midget. They towered over many of the other men easily by a few inches. Luckily they had inherited their mother's looks so they had women falling at their feet, well Orokashii did anyway. They wore standard ninja uniforms and jonin vests, marking that they were definitely powerful in more than just genetics.

Orokashii pulled away from me and let go of my wrist. I quickly pulled it to me subconsciously and rubbed it. Yurushi walked toward me and took a seat on the table before placing a sheet of paper in front of me. I glanced at it half heartedly, recognizing from the print and code numbers that it was a mission. It was a coded but it didn't stop me from reading it, they had taught me how to read many of the codes since they often found themselves coming to me for help, if not for info then for new techniques. It wasn't very detailed so I assumed that they had been giving a better explanation in person. It spoke of an organization that was threatening the country's business by taking missions at a low price and with a dangerously high success rate.

"We need to know as much as possible about the Sharingan."

The name seemed familiar, and I quickly got up and started to shuffle through the large card cabinets for info cards. After pulling out a few cards I turned to him and held them out to him lazily.

"Try these, if they don't tell you enough just come back to me with another word or something."

Yurushi gave a quick nod before walking away to the section that the card listed. Orokashii lazily followed after him with his arms behind his head, not even showing any form of thanks which was typical of him. As soon as they wandered off into the many shelves I took a seat in front of the scroll and rolled it up quickly. It didn't matter if they came back or not for I usually gave them what they wanted on the first try. I quickly made my way over to the shelf that I had gotten the scroll from and put it back in place. I looked at the others not really all that interested in re-reading them. I've already read most the books in the library, the only ones I haven't touched being all the perverted novels and silly fairytales that were on the first floor for the civilians.

I turned to the window again, to still see the rain pouring down; it was unusually for this time of year to have so much rain. The occasional sprinkle was fine but this was a down pour of great proportions. It was at this time that I realized that the night shift had yet to show up or even send up a warning for me to leave before they kicked me down the stairs and out the door. It was weird so I headed for the lower level to figure out if any of the lower level librarians had heard from them. I glanced at the window again, the cloudy sky suddenly very dark, meaning that it was soon going to be night.

I took the stairs two at a time and made it to the lower level just as a nasty thunder sounded and startled some of the readers who had cuddled themselves up in a chair. I walked to the main desk and looked at the head librarian.

"By any chance has the night shift come yet? I want to get some food before it gets too nasty outside."

"Sorry Seiyuuki but two of them have been called to help do paper work at the tower and the other called in sick with the stomach flu. I need you to handle the night shift tonight, if it's not a problem." She said as she looked up from checking in some books

"It's no problem, I just need to get dinner really quickly and I'll be right back." I said as I blessed my luck quietly.

She nodded in understanding before continuing her work. I quickly walked to the back room where everyone stored their things during the day and grabbed my coat, purse, and umbrella. I was overjoyed to be able to spend the night in the library, just the books and me, the lower levels were closed at night but my level, the one with the ninja scrolls and information was open around the clock. I figured I grab a big meal so that I'd have something to snack on as the night went on. I left the towering building and made my way over to a ramen shop; walking in and over to the counter.

The place itself was dark, the light's not being much help accept to show you the dim outlines of whoever was in the restaurant. The man at the counter recognized me and smiled.

"Hello Sei-san, will you be having the usual?"

"No Tou-san, I'll have something bigger, I have a long night ahead of me." I said as I paid the man.

"Oh?" The man questioned as he took the money and plugged in my order. He motioned for me to sit and wait while we talked.

"The night shift couldn't make it so I get to take over. It will be just me and the library tonight."

He laughed and held his stomach as if it were going to fall off. I didn't mind since he was pretty old and found just about everything I said to be laughable.

"That's something I would expect from you Sei-san. Tell you what, I'll give you an order of tea to drink, no extra charge."

I smiled and nodded my head.

"Thanks Tou-san, it means a lot."

He smiled before heading into the back to check on the workers, leaving me alone to bask in the dim spot light that hung above my seat. I turned around to look at the restaurant and customers who were basically eating in the dark. I could feel something watching me as I glanced around the shop. I turned and noticed an odd pare sitting in a far off corner. One was a giant compared to most of the other people in the restaurant, possibly hitting a foot higher than my brothers. The other was a little shorter than my brothers. Both looked menacing and mysterious in the dark with their woven hats and black cloaks with bright red clouds that flashed even in this dark light.

A sudden flash of lightening brightened up the shop with its white glow. The two people I had been watching suddenly glowed with light and their true feature showed. Broad shoulders hinted at them being men as well as they way they sat. However, I was caught in a stare with none other than the giant. His eyes were exotic to say the least, small round circles with tiny black pulps and out lined with black which creepily looked like it was his natural skin. Some lines were visible under his eyes but they only added to the intimidation level of his stare. The rest of his skin was blue which really threw me off but before I could take a better look the lightening died off and the moment we shared ended.

I finally realized that my heart was racing and my face had turned several shades of red and turned away from the duo. I had never been looked at so intently before and it sent shivers down my spine. Part of me wanted to look back to try and see if I had seen they right color for his skin but Tou came back with my order and the tea.

"Here you go Sei-san, I hope you enjoy it."

"I know I will, goodbye Tou-san." I say rather quickly as I grab my order and quickly waltz out the door, not even bothering to put up my umbrella again.

I made my way back to the library quickly and made it just before the last librarian was about to lock the doors, I walked in quickly nodded to her in thanks as she locked the door behind me. The lower level was now empty and dark, only a few lights left on for the night people to see where they were going. I made my way to the top level and settled my things down on the table I had been at earlier. There was no sign of my brothers except for a note of thanks from Yurushi. I took a seat and started to eat my meal quietly. I finished it faster than I had planned and decided to make a few rounds around the shelves to make sure everything was in order.

I wandered around the area, enjoying the peace and quiet of the night and the pouring rain. I glanced to the window and sighed as I did, thinking back to my little staring contest with the giant. I couldn't think for the life of me why he had stared or glanced my way. My hair was a messy bun, tossed up after many failed tries with different styles, I tossed on a dress that was two sizes too big and an annoying yellow that I was told I looked good in. After much thought I concluded that I was just tricked by a sales woman into buying a dress that they didn't want to hold onto anymore. Over that was a giant baggy sweater that buttoned up in the front but had a low neckline on me because of the size difference. Standard ninja sandals finished off the outfit and made me look for like a hobo more than anything. I took a step closer to examine my face, for some reason I felt really self-conscious at the moment, maybe since that was the first time in all my life I had been looked at so intently my the opposite sex. I looked just like mom, round face and green eyes. Dark brown blended with a tan skin tone that often threw people off when they were told I was Orokashii's and Yurushi's sister.

I didn't think I looked bad, messy and lazy maybe, but not bad. I was often complimented on a figure that I still had trouble finding among the bag clothing I wore. People would tell me that if I had to be grateful to my mother for anything then it had to be my figure. I honestly don't get it, maybe it's because I lack romance in my life. I leaned back and looked past my reflection to see the village, dark and lonely. A feeling of sadness hit me as loneliness sunk in; it was at these moments that I wished my brothers would come and bother me or something to take my mind of the silence.

A sudden crack filled the air, as if someone just snapped a full grown tree in half. I looked around and noticed that one of the glass window panes down on the end opposite of me had a dent in it. I walked over to the window and guessed that the indent was about the size of my fist. I raised an eyebrow in question at the glass. It was supposed to be enforced with many chakra shields and seals so for it to simply break was extremely strange. I got a closer look at the crack before a pair of beaming eyes appeared suddenly, causing me to squeak and jump backwards. The eyes sprouted a smiled filled with sharp pointy teeth and seemed to show an emotion of pure lust for violence. It was then that I realized whose eyes they were but before I could react the window completely shattered and the force of the explosion sent me back.

I was flung on a table a long ways away from the now gaping hole that now let in all the rain water and vicious winds from the worsening storm outside. I tried to sit up but and sudden weight held me down as if someone had just put a one ton block on my chest. I looked up into the face of the man I had been watching at the restaurant. His eyes no longer looked curious or demanding but excited and bloodthirsty. He was holding me down with one hand, expertly placed so that he wasn't groping me in anyway which made it all the more embarrassing and uncomfortable. I stared at him since he was in fact blue and his hair was only a darker shade. His eyebrows scrunched together as he frowned at me unhappily, his eyes now a simple glare.

"What, no fight? Not even a squirm?" He asked in his deep voice that only scared me more.

I wasn't stupid like a lot of other people. I knew when I was in deep shit. He was nearly twice the height of me and four times the width. I could feel the strength in his hand, neither causing me harm nor giving me a chance to escape. I knew that if I stayed still and did as he asked he would hopefully let me go, unless he didn't want any witnesses. I shook my head numbly to answer his questioning. His glare only grew and he put more pressure on my chest making it hard to breathe properly. I started to wheeze as it became harder and harder for me to get a decent amount of air in my lungs. I knew he was trying to get a reaction or something out of me but I wouldn't give in. If I did then who knows what could happen to me.

"Kisame, leave her alone and come help me." A emotionless voice said coming from the right.

I turned to look at the man that had spoken to see what looked to be a model. He was attractive and his long hair flapped in the wind softly as it if were only a gentle breeze and not a thunder storm. If any of the civilian girls had seen his face he would have been attacked within seconds. The one known as Kisame removed his hand and I started to gulp in all the air I could. He jumped off the table and walked over to his much shorter companion.

"You're no fun Itachi-san."

"You'll jeopardize the mission if you decide to play around with a simple bystander. We only have so much time before someone notices the mess you made."

I looked to the gaping hole and had to agree silently with the handsome man. Anyone within a ten mile radius would be able to see the damage the blue man made. The whole window wall was gone, completely shattered in the blow. Some of the roof and floor was missing around the window where he had centered his attack. Anything that was within the area of the explosion was covered in glass, some of which was embedded deep into the objects. I was glad that I had jumped back when I did or else I would have been full of glass instead of just some nasty looking cuts. I looked back to the men wearily, seeing if they were paying any attention to me. They both were in deep conversation with each other, by the looks of it going over their next course of action. I slowly sat up, trying not to make any sound, and slowly slid off the table. If I could make it to the door I knew I could bolt down the stairs and scream bloody murder to get someone's attention. Before I could even take my first step I was forced back on the table by the man known as Kisame, this time his hand on my neck.

"I don't think I said you could leave." He said dangerously, giving my neck a squeeze to emphasize the point.

I shook my head the best I could to let him know that I wasn't going to do a thing. He seemed to loosen his grip a bit before lifting me up by my neck. I gasped and gurgled for air, kicking my feet wildly as he let gravity choke me slowly. He chuckled as he watched me squirm before the other known as Itachi growled at him.

"Kisame, focus."

He turned to look at the smaller man and he let me drop to the floor. My head hit the edge of the table and I curled up on the floor in pain, holding my head tightly. My eyes started to water at the pain as I checked for any bleeding which luckily there was none of. I looked up over at the stoic one as he wandered over to one of the book shelves and grazed the books at his eye level with his hand. His attitude seemed to change slightly, from dark and menacing to focused and curious. If I didn't know any better I could say that he looked like the other ninja that came in here in an attempt to learn new things. His eyes feel on me and I flinched, back at the restaurant I hadn't had a chance to see this one's eyes and part of me was glad that I didn't. They were blood red with strange symbols in the middle and his emotionless face made them all the more deadly and frightening.

A heavy silence hung in the air as the giant, Kisame, and the quiet one, Itachi, stood in their places and glanced about the large room. From what I could tell they were looking for something. My inner librarian was telling me to help them but fear taped her mouth shut as well as mine. Kisame stood over my head, most likely making sure I didn't make a more to run again. I could feel him sending me quiet glanced but I paid them no mind for my focus was on Itachi. He ran his hand along the spins of any books within his reach as he scanned the shelves his steps got quicker, almost impatient. When he reached the end of the shelf he walked back over to Kisame and me before looking at the taller man.

"It's not here. They must have moved it after hearing we were in the area."

"Damn, Leader-sama will kill us if we don't complete this mission." Kisame growled.

I felt a large hand grab the back of my clothing tightly and pull me up from the floor without a problem.

"Alright girl, Where is it?"

I stared at him like he was insane; I had no idea what he was talking about. My obvious confusion angered him and he quickly wrapped his free hand around my throat.

"Where is the Shield scroll?" He asked, clenching his teeth tightly.

The name rang a bell in my head and the information came to me as it always had when I was asked questions.

"Burnt." I replied simply since the headache I now had made it difficult to talk.

The two stared at me without any emotion; It creeped me out and made me shiver. They didn't speak for a long time so I decided, against my better judgment, to elaborate.

"T-there was rumors going around. S-s-some people believe that i-it was being targeted by enemy villages. They did-didn't want it getting into the wrong hands so they burnt it."

The duo's attitude seemed to grow angry and they had every right to be. The scroll they wanted hand the answer to destroying the shield around the village that prevented any air strikes or jutsus from causing any damage. Without the scroll the shield was basically indestructible. However, they had a backup which no one, not even my brothers knew about.

Me.

The hand on my throat tightened and I squirmed nervously.

"If you're lying I'll-"

"I'M NOT, THE SCROLL GOT BURNED A MONTH AGO! THERE IS A FILE ON IT IN SECTION Q OF THE BASEMENT!" I cried, losing control of my nerves.

I felt tears in the corner of my eyes as the giant loosened his grip on my neck. His partner stared at me skeptically, most likely thinking I was lying so that I could escape.

"Show us then."

With those words I was dropped down on the ground again, this time not hitting my head on the table. Tears started to fall as guilt set in, my heart knowing that I had most likely destroyed any form of trust I had built up with the ninja community. I was now a partner in their crime and if anything would die with shame on my name at their hands. A sob escaped my lips as I stood and wiped my face before walking towards the stairs. They followed me quietly, the taller one ready to pounce like a rabid dog if I tried to run. The walk down to the basement doors was rather intimidating since death was basically leaning over my shoulder every second.

When we reached the doors I looked to the large doors and realized that they were locked with a seal, a seal that could only be opened by a ninja. My heart started to race as I stopped, the other two only a few steps behind me.

"What's the hold up?" The blue one asked.

"I-I can't open the door. I'm n-not a ninja."

I was quickly shoved to the side after that, the black haired one stepping forward to take my place. His hands moved dangerously fast before he let lose a giant fire ball toward the door, burning it and what was ever within five feet of it. I was then pulled back up and shoved into the open area. It was a vast dark room with simple lights lining each isle the file cabinets stood cold and dusty, no janitor ever allowed to clean the place up. I started to walk with a bit more confidence and found the section and cabinet I was looking for. I pulled open the massive drawers and quickly snatched up the file that I had told them existed.

The smaller one took it from me and quickly scanned the pages. His companion looked over his shoulder to read as well and he frowned angrily. The one that, as far as I knew, was called Itachi closed the file and handed it back to me. I put it back in its proper spot out of habit and closed the drawer, waiting for my swift end. However it never came and I turned to the pair uncertainly. They looked to be in deep discussion once again. I looked to the ground nervously, trying to keep my mind off of my unavoidable death, when a loud shutter shook the building. The sound of voices was heard on the floor above us and I smiled thinking I was saved.

The giant and his companion looked up calmly before the smaller one turned toward the door.

"Come Kisame, we should be going so that we can report this to Leader-sama. Finish the job quickly."

My smile faded as Kisame slowly turned to me. I froze in my spot as the blue ninja looked down at me. His eyes glinted with something evil and he smiled as if he had just discovered how to destroy the world. For a moment I thought he would kill me until he looked back to his partner.

"I think I'll keep her if you don't mind Itachi. Unlike you I can't just walk into a bar for ten seconds and then walk out with a nice lay, usually more."

"Do whatever you want but hurry up; we have company to deal with."

My mind went blank when he said the word 'lay'. My logical side knew what the term meant but my human side was frozen at the simple idea. Now, sex is nothing new to me. I've read about it in medical books and my brother Orokashii spoke about it openly at breakfast almost every day. However, my lack of a love life also meant a lack of a sex life. In other words I was purer than virgin snow in terms of love making. On top of that I wasn't one to be curious about it in the first place, unlike a lot of other nineteen year olds. It never appealed to me as a topic to learn about, especially when I had ninja scrolls to read instead.

A sudden pull got my mind to work again just as I was thrown up into the air. I squeaked as I was caught by the tall one called Kisame who held me over his shoulder like a ragdoll. Before I could voice any form of protest to his perverted idea he started to run at an incredibly high speed. I had to close my eyes and cling to whatever I could to keep myself from getting sick. There was a moment that I felt like I was floating so I opened my eyes to peak.

We were now on the first floor and on the ground there was a pile of dead grass nin as well as a few surprised ones. One seemed to get out of his shock first and I heard him yell angrily.

"They have Seiyuuki-sama! Stop them before they escape."

The sama added to the end of my name did not go unnoticed my by carrier and he landed on the ground like a cat before turning to the ninja that had spoken.

"Well what do you know; it looks like I got me a special bed toy, how lucky."

I could not see the looks on the other's faces but if I had to guess they would either be appalled or disgusted. I felt Kisame adjust me on his shoulder as if I was nothing more than an extra bag before he grabbed the hilt of his sword with his free hand. I had to lean back to avoid getting hit by the strangely shaped weapon as he flung it out to show off to the ninja currently bothering him. I looked over to his partner who had leaned himself up against a nearby shelf, many dead bodies at his feet. I had to fight back the sick feeling in my stomach. He seemed to be busying himself with cleaning his nails as his partner took on the left over ninja.

"We won't let you take the scroll information!" Another one shouted as he charged forward foolishly.

Now if he had said 'near' instead of 'take' then maybe, just maybe the duo would think I was just a useless girl. But no, he just had to let on to what I really was. There was a sudden wet sensation on the back of my legs and butt as I heard a gurgle from behind me. The urge to throw up entered my throat again but I shoved it back down, pretending that I really didn't know what had just splattered all over my back side. I heard a slight chuckle from my captor and any hope I had left me. I looked over to the supposed Itachi as he stared back, his eyes not giving away anything other than curiosity.

"So you really didn't get rid of the scroll, just changed its form." He said as he stood up from the wall and walked over. "Then our mission is complete. Kisame, do the purge."

"Gladly." Kisame responded as he dropped me on the ground by Itachi's feet.

There were no sounds, not even a squeak as the men died. Just a chorus of thumps as their bodies hit the floor. I didn't dare turn to look at them knowing that if I did I wouldn't be able to hold back the barf any longer. I closed my eyes tightly as I shook in fear, my mind registering that there was no way out. A large arm wrapped around me and flung me over a strong shoulder, most likely Kisame's. There was a light chuckle that made his shoulders bounce slightly as he walked out the front doors with Itachi.

"What a catch, what a catch. Not only a cute fuck but the exact thing we came to get in the first place! I love it when things go our way Itachi, don't you?"

"Hmm," The shorter man replied.

I felt a rush of wind and water started to smack me in the face as they pulled on hats and slowly walked away from the now destroyed library. I fell limp from exhaustion and the world slowly went black around me, only knowing that whatever fate that awaits me would not be pleasant.

Side notes:

Kusagakure- Village Hidden in the Grass

Seiyuuki- Monkey

Orokashii- Foolish, stupid

Yurushi- Forgiveness


	2. The Inn

(A/N: Thanks for all the watches everyone! I would love to hear what you think about the story though so please leave a review!)

My mind was hazy as I started to wake up, the rain from when I had passed out now just a simple shower. I felt like I was being cradled, held close to whoever was carrying me. A light breeze passed as we moved making me shiver and snuggle closer to the warmth holding me. A deep chuckle shook the chest of my carrier, the sound of it familiar in some way.

"It looks as if the princess is starting to wake." A rough voice said as the grip on my body tightened and lifted me up so that my head now rested on what I would have to guess to be a shoulder.

The voice sounded familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it, instead clinging to what little warmth I had left now that I was exposed to more wind. I slowly opened my eyes and came face to face with a blurred blue. I started to wonder why I was seeing blue when it was still raining but the rough voice spoke again.

"I'm surprised you're so quiet after what happened the last time you were awake. Most of the usual prey is rather loud after they wake up."

My mind suddenly kicked into full gear and the memories of the night before started to dance in front of my face. The stare down, the window breaking, the pain, the blood, everything came into my head all at once giving me a slight headache. I sat up straight and tried to push away from the voice in a weak attempt to run to freedom but a firm grip kept me from even moving an inch. I realized who was carrying me now and I wanted to kick and scream and trash about until he let me go, but my tired and cold body refused me anything more than just simple tears. The voice chuckled again as I slouched back into his grip, giving up on escape. I looked up at the blue man holding me, the rain making me have to squint my eyes to see. His face was mostly covered by his cloak, like back at the restaurant, and he wore a strange woven hat that the covered the rest.

I just stared at him for a long time, not having much else to do since I was too weak to escape his grip. The rain fell on my face and mixed with my tears making it so they went unnoticed. It seemed like a long time before I felt the need to fill the silence as a way to make myself feel better. Talking about things always took my mind off of my troubles so it was my scapegoat whenever I felt bad. At first I wasn't certain about talking to him at all since he did just kidnap me after all, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get to know my captor since any hope of escape was smashed to pieces with each step he took away from my home.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice coming out dry and horse.

He didn't turn to me or give any sign that he heard me so I looked toward where we were going. I knew when to not bother a person when they didn't want to talk.

"Kisame." He answered suddenly.

I looked back to him and blinked in surprise, my tears no longer falling thanks to the distraction. I didn't know what to say after that actually taken aback that he responded. I cleared my throat to try and make the dryness go away before speaking.

"Why did you take me away?"

"It was my mission."

"But you said before that-" I started to say.

"That just happens to a benefit to the mission being successful."

I shut up after that, his tone seeming to want me to drop the conversation. I wanted to know why they really took me away, other than the fact that Kisame, or so he calls himself, wants to get laid really badly. From what I could recall it had to do something with the shield scroll, but there could be so many possibilities to why they need it, well, me since the scroll is now gone. I looked forward again and noticed something in the distance. The rain made it hard to see but as we got closer it turned out to be a town entrance.

"You know where to go right Itachi?" Kisame asked suddenly.

"I'll meet you back at the inn after I get the message out." An emotionless voice replied as this owner walked into my line of sight.

I had to guess that it was Kisame's partner from the night before; sadly I had forgotten he existed so the sound of his voice startled me a bit. He jumped away, off the road and into the trees, just before we got to the gate. Kisame carried me though the town silently. No one seemed to care about a giant blue man carrying a petit girl who looked pretty worse for wear. It was as if we were invisible to everyone else on the street. I wanted to call out to them for help but they were most likely as weak as I was and I couldn't bear to see any more people die in attempting to save me.

He carried me into an Inn that looked pretty run down from the outside, but the inside was in fact very comfortable looking and homey. Now that I was out of the rain I realized just how wet I was. I was soaked to the bone since I had no jacket and my dress looked to be stained with blood and some mud. I looked a mess and felt five times as worse. He set me down on my feet but kept a firm grip on my arm as he walked up to the front desk.

The man at the desk looked like he had a seven foot pole up his butt with his scrunched up face and snooty sounding voice.

"Can I help you?"

"I need a double room please."

"Of course, one second."

The man turned to a large board with many hooks, some holding keys and some empty. He pulled a pair of keys down and handed them to Kisame quickly.

"Your room is on the third floor to the right; the room number is on your key. Check out ends at nine o' clock and after that you pay for one more night along with the number you stayed."

Kisame responded with a simple nod and all but dragged me upstairs to the room. The halls were plain looking with very little decoration and the doors all had gold colored numbers on them. When we reached the room Kisame unlocked the door quickly and flung me in like a suitcase. Luckily I landed on one of the two beds so I didn't get any more injuries. I sat up and watched him lock the door quietly before pulling off his sword and leaning it against. I had to admit it was a strange sword; it was completely wrapped in bandages except for the hilt. Its massive size fit him however; they were like two of a kind.

Kisame removed his hat and threw it on a low table by a small couch near the window. He removed his cloak and tossed it on the couch before walking over to me. My heart started to pound in my chest as I remembered what he had said the night before and I flinched as he put one knee on the bed next to me. He towered over me like vulture hovers over its prey and leaned down into my face. I know I was staring wide eyed at him in fear but he just smiled that creepy smile.

"Go take a bath girl, last thing I need is you dying from a cold and making us fail the mission."

I blinked a few times; the fact that he had just told me to do that was a little surprising.

"But I have no other clothing and these are soaked."

"I'll take them and get rid of them. You stick out to much in them anyway and we need to blend in until we're out of the country."

"But what will I-"

"I'll get you new ones so just do it, unless you'd like me to bathe with you to make sure you are doing as I told you."

The idea made me blush in embarrassment and I quickly made my way over to the bathroom, though I think I hurt myself again in the process of running to the door. It wasn't anything fancy but after all that has happened it was like a little mini heaven to me. Kisame watched me from his placed near the bed, his eyes seeming to darken with something I couldn't name.

"Toss your clothing and shoes out when you have them off and I'll give you a shirt of mine to wear for after your bath. I'll get a different outfit for you when Itachi has come back."

I nodded in understanding before closing the door. I quickly pulled off my soaked sweater and dress after I kicked off my shoes clumsily. I looked in the small mirror and examined my person for any injuries. The part of my legs that was exposed in the dress was covered in small cuts that had healed over while my arms were covered in round purple bruises from the rough treatment I have been receiving. I had a thick red line going across my neck, probably from when I had been choked, and a nice lump forming on the back of my head. I grumbled as the bump on my head stung from me toughing it gently but I shut myself up knowing I had been much luckier than a lot of other people. I pulled my hair out of its bun, which was much more difficult than it should have been because of the rain and tossing's I've gotten. I looked to my undergarments and blushed at what I was wearing.

It was a matching set, black lace panties and a strapless lace bra; it had been a gift from my mother on my birthday. I wish I had realized this sooner since now I had to hand over all my clothing to a man who has less than pure intentions for me. Sometimes I wish I paid attention to what I put on in the morning instead of just putting on the first thing I grabbed. I quickly stripped out of the embarrassing garments and put them in the pile of clothing on the floor. I then opened the door slightly and booted out the pile before shutting and locking the door quickly. I then turned to the bath and started to fill it up. The water steamed as the poured into the tub, fogging up the mirror slowly. The air grew hot and a feeling of relaxation that I've been lacking for the last twenty-four hours fell over me.

After it was done filling I stepped in and took a seat. It was very nice; the warmth coved every inch of me and I wanted to fall asleep right then and there. I quickly dipped my head under and got my hair wet. I grabbed one of the complimentary shampoos and emptied it on to my head. As I scrubbed my hair I heard voices starting to speak but I could not make out the words, I assumed that it meant that the one Kisame said came back, Itachi I think his name was. I scrubbed my hair gentle around the bump on my head and then dipped my hair into the water and rinsed it. I then grabbed some conditioner and repeated that I had done with the shampoo. I then grabbed one of those tiny soaps they give you that never seem enough but always last longer than you need them to. I scrubbed the rest of my body quickly as I let my hair soak in the conditioner. I rinsed myself and hair off before just sitting there and soaking up the heat.

"Hurry up and come out, you've had long enough to bathe." The stoic voice of Kisame's friend said through the door.

I jumped and quickly looked to the door. I really didn't want to have to go out since I didn't have any clothing but I really was in no position to fuss about it since my life was now in their hands. I stood up and got out of the tub before grabbing the biggest towel that was there and wrapping it around myself. It was pretty good coverage but it was still very awkward with my lack of undergarments. I unlocked the door and opened it to find the handsome man standing right there. I let out a surprised squeak and stared at him wide eye in fear. His emotionless gaze looked me up and down for a second before holdout a black garment of some sort.

"Put it on."

I took the piece of clothing and slowly closed the door again, that really creeped me out. I quickly took my towel and started to dry off. I then slipped on the large garment and looked in the mirror. It was a shirt that went down to my knees so I didn't have to worry about showing anything off but it kept slipping down one of my shoulders annoyingly. I quickly ran my fingers through my hair and before hanging up the towel to dry and opening the door again. This time the handsome man wasn't there, instead he was sitting on one of the beds. He seemed to be meditating so I quietly walked over to the window and looked outside. It was still raining, and the glass fogged up slightly if I go to close. I didn't recognize where I was, but I rarely ever left the village so it was understandable. I walked over to the couch and took a seat before looking around the room. Kisame's sword and other things were gone so I assumed that he left to go get the outfit that he said he would.

I glanced over to his friend and watched him for a bit. He seemed so out of place, at first glance I would have thought him to be a model instead of a ninja. However after seeing him in action I knew better. The door suddenly clicked and Kisame returned. He had what looked like a small traveling backpack that looked quite full. With a flick of his wrist the bag came flying at me and I clumsily grabbed it, falling off the couch in the process. I heard him laugh as he took of his coat and tossed his hat on the table by me. I sat up and looked in the bag as he walked over and took a seat on the couch. From my spot on the ground I felt over powered by his height, even if he was sitting. As I shuffled through the bag I could feel him watching me quietly.

I pulled out two pairs of black pants, from what I could tell they looked like they would hang low on my hips. Then I pulled out a few long sleeved turtle necks, all of them were dark colors. I looked deeper and found a few pairs of underwear and bras, all of them horribly lacy and frilly. I blushed a deep red as Kisame chuckled at the look on my face.

"Is something wrong? From what I could tell you wore that sort of thing." He asked in a voice that screamed that he enjoyed my suffering.

"No they're fine." I said softly, too embarrassed to look him in the face and too scared to insult him.

He let out a much louder laugh and I continued to dig through the things he got. There was a pair of brand new ninja shoes, black and well made, and from what I could tell a package of feminine products. At least he had the mind to think of my other needs. Finally I found deodorant and a hairbrush which I quickly started to use to untangle my hair from the knots that started to form. Kisame stood and wandered over to the other bed before flopping down on it. His feet hung off the edge while his head was right next to the headboard. I looked back to the window after I finished brushing my hair. My mind started to wander back to my home and family.

Did mom know yet? What about Orokashii and Yurushi, what would they do without my help? What of dad? Certainly he wouldn't let me get out of his grasp. Some form of want swelled in my heart but reality kept beating it down with a stick. All I could do now was do as I was told, try not to upset them and hold out for something. If I could hold out I'm certain by then they would figure out some way to save me. I turned back to my captors, Kisame seemed to be sleeping and Itachi was still meditating by the looks of it. I turned to look out the window one more time, the rain seemed to stop. I then stood and curled up on the couch, falling asleep quickly and soundlessly.

Morning came sooner than I would have liked, the light from the window hit my face directly waking me up against my will. My first instinct was to quickly remove the problem so I got up and walked over to the window, still half asleep. I stumbled over the table and hit my forehead against the window sill. I started to curse and I quickly got up and steadied myself against the wall. For a moment I thought I heard something behind me but when I turned to look no one was there. It was then I realized that the room was empty.

Completely empty.

I rubbed my eyes hastily to stop them from being blurry and quickly did a double take. I was alone; the two men that had kidnapped me were nowhere to be seen. My heart skipped a beat and I quickly ran from the window and over to the door. However, I stopped when I realized that the only thing I was wearing was a baggy t-shirt. I quickly dived for the backpack of clothing I had gotten the other day and quickly stripped out of the oversized t-shirt. I pulled on a pair of lacy white undergarments, much to my embarrassment, and then slipped into the black pants. I had been right when I thought they would hang low, they seemed to be only a little more than half an inch from showing off my already skimpy underpants. They also seemed keen on showing off the top of my butt crack every time I bent over.

I quickly pulled out one of the turtle necks and slipped it on, the blue fabric was soft to the touch. It clung to me tightly, showing off some rather flattering curves that I had no idea that I had. It also seemed to end a bit too short for my liking and now my whole stomach was exposed to the open air. For a minute I contemplated staying here and attempting to kill the blue man for his obvious reasons for getting the clothing but quickly shoved the idea out of my head and pulled on the ninja sandals. Out of girly habit I looked into the mirror of the bathroom and for a moment didn't recognize myself. I guess after years of hiding under baggy clothing one could forget that they looked pretty good in stuff that actually fit. I blushed when I realized that I scarily resembled my mother.

The ample bust that only seemed bigger with the shirt stretching in an attempt to keep it contained, the hips that most men would comment on for being great for "birthing children" when they truly had much more perverted intentions, my flat but slightly pudgy stomach that showed that I was in shape but no body builder, the long dark brown hair that went naturally wavy and ended just below my shoulders, and the ever so apparent innocence in my green eyes. It was like looking into a picture of my mother instead of looking in a mirror.

Suddenly a feeling of hate filled me. I wanted to grab the mirror and throw it to the floor until it shattered; I wanted to break it into for having made me look like the whore of a woman that had me. I was no whore! I was clean and pure! My education was more than just how to please a man, I knew how to kill and heal them too! I clenched my hand into a fist and punched the mirror as hard as I could, but I didn't even leave a mark. I pulled back my hand and glared at the burse now forming on my knuckles. It was at times like these that I wish I had thought before acting.

Now that my insecure side left with a bursed ego a feeling of guilt hit me. Though my mother wasn't picture perfect in the aspect of being a homemaker, if anything she was a home wrecker, she did take the time to raise me and try to be something. I guess when your mother is like mine you can't help but want to be anything but. I sighed as I grabbed the bag and quickly made my way to the door. I opened it without much trouble and looked down the hall both ways before closing the door quietly. I all but ran down the hall and stairs before dashing across the lobby and out the door to freedom.

Only to end up running into the clutches of my captors.

"Didn't I tell you to lock the door from the outside Kisame?" The irritated voice of the ever so attractive partner of Kisame said.

"She seemed to be in a pretty deep sleep so I though she wouldn't be much trouble for a couple minutes."

"If she had gotten away I would have killed you."

"Don't be so mad Itachi; she wouldn't have gotten very far."

That was the conversation they had as Kisame carried me back up to the room over his shoulder, like some misbehaving child. I didn't feel scared in the least, if anything I was angry at myself. If I had not wasted time at the mirror I could have gotten away scot free. I heard the click of a door and once again I was tossed onto the bed. This time I sat up and was only inches away from Kisame's face. I sucked in a quick breath; the look on his face was a mixture of something I couldn't explain. Anger was the main ingredient, followed by frustration and irritation. A small glimmer of something flashed in his eyes but it was too quick for me to catch. A small bit of fear weighed my heart and my body naturally tried to run away from him.

He swiftly grabbed my arm and got closer to my face, to the point that our foreheads almost touched. His breath hit my face in long slow waves. He seemed to be keeping a pretty calm heart beat for someone that looked like he wanted to kill me. I stared into his eyes; mine most likely almost the size of dinner plates. He seemed to be thinking, maybe figuring out how to punish me. He opened his mouth to speak and I quickly shut my eyes.

"It was a noble attempt." He started off calmly, luring me into opening my eyes to see why he hadn't exploded. "However, next time you pull that stunt I cannot guarantee that you will be completely functional after I get a hold of you."

His voice reeked of venom and my body seemed to freeze from a sudden feeling of dread that was so strong that I almost broke down crying then and there. I nodded my head slowly and he let me go. He walked away from me and pulled off his sword to set on the wall once more, his cloak and hat following suit. His friend, Itachi, was already settled on the bed and meditating once more. I curled up so that I was resting my forehead on my knees and closed my eyes. I had avoided any form of punishment that time but who knew if I would next time, would I even have another chance to try and get away again now that they knew that I wasn't scared enough to stay in one place like an obedient dog?

A rather large and sudden weight sift on the bed took me by surprise and flung me forward onto Kisame. My face made contact with his shoulder and the rest of me flattened against his arm. I quickly scrambled away from him, rolled backwards and off the bed with a loud squeal. There was a moment of silence before I heard him laugh. It wasn't his usual laugh; in fact it was downright crazy. He seemed to have lost all control and the sound of if filled the room. It was deep and made anything really light jump a bit in its place. It wasn't in anyway menacing like his other laughs; honestly I think he was actually laughing happily. It was cut short however when something was thrown and hit him in the head replacing the laughing with a rather loud ouch. The item that hit him landed next to me and it looked to be a little black book. I sat up from my spot on the floor and opened the book as Kisame started to yell at the smaller man.

"What was that for!?"

"You were being too loud."

"I have every right to be as loud as I like!"

"You'll bring us unnecessary attention like that."

"So? More importantly why did you have to throw a book of all things? I thought you were the mature one."

"I would have killed you if I threw anything else."

I wanted to giggle at them; they were fighting like an old married couple. However, the book turned out to be much more interesting. It looked to be like a bounty book that many ninja have shown me back in the village when they wanted to know a counter jutsu for one of the people. This addition seemed to belong to a different country since most of the ninja in the book seemed to be wearing leaf headbands. There were also a few people from other countries.

I started to flip through the pages as the two men seemed to get deeper into the argument which had no real purpose. Some of the people had their faces crossed out while others had notes taken on their page. The notes were written neatly and in black ink so if I had to guess it was Itachi that had taken them. Kisame didn't seem the one to have very neat hand writing. I flipped past a few more pages until I landed on one that I was rather surprised to find. Looking back at me was a much younger version of Itachi. I read the description of him and to say the least I was rather impressed. However one word that I read took me off guard.

Sharingan.

"Itachi Uchiha is a Sharingan user?" I ask aloud, slightly taken aback that the very thing my brothers were trying to learn about was now right in front of me.

An air of silence filled the room and I felt both men look at me. I wanted to smack my forehead for saying that out loud and giving myself unneeded attention. I knew what the Sharingan was for the most part, or what it basically was. It was a blood line ability passed through the family and it could only be unlocked under a great amount of stress. Afterwards the user could use it whenever they would like. The eye could be used to copy any move and also help the user see faster moving things. If there was anything else to know about the eye then I didn't have a clue about it since the info was only from the dissection of a fallen owner of the eye.

Suddenly a pale hand came into my view and grabbed to book gently and tugged it away from my weak hands. I could see that he was only standing a few inches away from me and fear started to attack my heart.

"You seem to be familiar with the Sharingan." Itachi stated. "How much do you know?"

"Enough to know that you are a very hard opponent to beat." I replied nervously.

"Elaborate." He demanded in a dark voice.

"You can see fast moving objects with relative ease and can copy any move you see. The ability itself can only be awakened when the person is under a severe amount of stress. After that the eye can be turned on and off as the user pleases."

"Anything else?"

"No."

I could see him kneel in front of me and my heart started to pound in my chest.

"Where did you learn this?"

"I read it in a book, it was written by one of our medics from the third great shinobi war. It was common to find many dead bodies about in those times so our medics often studied them and tried to find out things about certain blood lines that were often found on the field." I squeaked out quickly.

Another moment of silence passed I ventured a look at his face and it was frightening. It was not angry or irritated but cold and almost sad in a way.

"You know about a lot of things, don't you?" He asked in a creepy calm voice.

I could only nod my head now. I knew I had said something that hit a cord in him. I feared that he would snap or something until a loud tapping came from the window. All of us turned to look at the window. Sitting outside was a large black hawk with a piece of paper tied to its leg. It tapped on the glass again and flapped it wings as if it was irritated with us for not opening the window. Itachi got up and walked over to the window and opened it. The bird swooped in and flew around the room for a bit before landing on Kisame's shoulder and held out his leg to him. Kisame quickly removed the paper and the hawk jumped from his shoulder and landed in front of me. It tilted its head to the side as if asking a question before hopping over to my side and sitting right next to me.

I stared at the bird in question for a bit as Kisame quietly read the paper. Itachi had taken a seat on one of the beds since there was a resounding squeak that filled the room. I looked over to Kisame and noticed that he had a stern look on his face.

"We'll be meeting Hidan and Kakuzu on the border and joining them in collecting a bounty before returning to base. That's a hassle since we have a third person with us that we weren't expecting."

"We can work around it, we have before." Itachi replied as he went back to meditating. "What's the deadline?"

"Five days, we can rest one more but tomorrow we'll have to leave early in the morning."

I looked back to the ground and noticed the hawk had made itself comfortable against my thigh. I reached out the pet the bird gently but it snapped at my fingers and I quickly pulled them back. It then went back to using me as a pillow as soon as my hands were far away. I was the pulled to my feet by the back of my shirt and I heard the hawk caw in protest. It then flew to the window and giving on last irritated caw it jumped out and left. I looked to Kisame, who was the one holding me, and blinked a few times in surprise.

"Well girl I guess you get to have a little adventure before you meet leader, which means more time for you and me to get to know each other." He said with a wide grin.

I paled, if possible, and let him toss me onto the couch before he lay on the bed.

"Get some sleep; we have a lot of walking to do tomorrow."

I sat on the couch for a moment and stared at the blue man before laying back and staring at the ceiling. I knew better than to question either one of them at the moment since my little outburst seemed to put one of them on the edge. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep like he said. Maybe I would have some better luck with this situation tomorrow.


	3. The Forest

I really hate walking. I mean, I really hate it. I used to love to go walk in the park on a nice day back home but this, _this_ was torture.

"Hurry up girl, or I'll punt you the rest of the way to the border."

If I didn't know any better I would have glared at the man that was walking behind me. Then I would have attempted to smash in his face. However, he was a top notch missing nin with a super deadly partner on his side and I was an innocent female whose wardrobe had been completely changed just for said missing nin's pleasure. I hadn't the slightest chance. I quickened my pace and continued to stare straight forward. I knew that the men currently following me were in truth kidnapping me but they seemed to be nice enough to let me walk of my own accord, that or they were very confident that they could catch me if I tried to run away. In that I had no doubt.

I looked to the sky in attempt to clear my head of the negative thoughts and try to fill it with positives. It was in fact my first time outside of the village since I was born. It was kind of nice to be able to walk around knowing it was unfamiliar territory I was exploring. Also I did technically have a whole new wardrobe, even if it's only purpose was to tickle the blue ninja's perverted fantasy. It was also a first that I was thought of in that manner by a member of the opposite sex, even if they were extremely frightening. I sighed to myself and shook my head. For a minute there I thought I was losing my mind. This situation had absolutely no positives!

I looked to the sky again and couldn't help but be grateful that it wasn't raining anymore. I had no cloak like the others so it would have been bad for it if it was still pouring. Sadly, it was still a bit windy and my clothing's lack of middle section made it so I was shivering about every five seconds. I tugged down the bottom of my turtle neck which only made the stupid garment creep up further. At the rate it was climbing my bra would be exposed to the whole world! I heard a slight chuckle come from behind me and I knew Kisame was getting plenty of kicks from my current problem. That man must have been a sadist

"Hey girl, if you keep doing that you'll only make it worse."

Oh how I wanted to kick him where the sun didn't shine. He pushed my buttons worse than Orokashii had. The most irritating part is that he always called me _girl_, he didn't even try to figure out my real name! I mean come on, if you plan to take my virginity and make me into a slave then at least have the manners to learn my fucking name! However, no matter how much I wanted to yell at him my better judgment kept me in line. I didn't really know how long it would take to get to the border but I hoped that it wouldn't be too long, I wasn't sure if I could handle him much longer.

We walked for a while, Kisame continuously bothering me all the way, before coming to a clearing. I paid it no mind since only a little earlier I had been told to move faster. It seemed strange that I was the one leading this group of misfits when I was the hostage. I had no idea where I was going, to be completely honest, and they didn't seem to mind. I bet that if I took a slight enough turn I could lead us back to the city and they wouldn't even notice. However, we were half way through the clearing when I felt a sudden chill. My body froze in place and an extreme amount of fear started to eat away at my heart. I couldn't make myself move at all, it was as if I had stepped in cement and it had dried instantly around my feet.

"Hey girl, why did you st-"

I didn't hear him finish because a gust of wind came blocking out all sound before I felt someone grab me. I let out a surprised squeak as Kisame picked me up roughly with one arm and held his sword up in defense, just in time to block a wave of sharp kunai. He adjusted me so that I was more or less sitting on his forearm before standing up straighter. My mind started to flip out now since I technically had been targeted by those knives. It wanted me to run away screaming while at the same time cling to the closet thing possible, which at the moment was Kisame. I shivered like a cat that just got dunked in an ice bath as I took a fistful of Kisame's cloak in an attempt to keep myself locked onto the giant holding me.

I looked around wildly, trying to find my attacker and hopefully point him out for Kisame to smash. Yes, I did just say that, I wanted Kisame to smash him to bits. Now I'm not on their side, far from it in fact. I'm just taking advantage of the fact that Kisame is like an eight foot giant that uses a seven foot sword and whose physical strength was greater than one hundred men combined, I mean come on, who wouldn't? I glanced at Kisame out of the corner of my eye and the look on his face could only be described with one word.

Wild.

The raw hatred radiating off his person was intense. His eyes were flashing with a type of rage I couldn't name and the grip on his sword was turning his knuckles white; I was surprised that he hadn't snapped it in half yet. Was he really getting so worked up over me? Was I really that important? Well from that look I guess I was really important to the mission, whatever it may be. Kisame's gaze seemed to fall on something so I followed it. He was staring at his partner Itachi who currently had his hand in the chest of an ANBU.

…Holy crap!

His arm was actually inside that man!...or woman, I could never really tell when they were in complete uniform. My stomach churned and I had to cover my mouth in order to stop the vomit from coming out. I quickly swallowed the burning stomach fluids before they forced their way through my closed lips. It tasted like what I had eaten for my last few meals which wasn't much, just some water and cheap dumplings they bought on the way out of town, and very sour lemonade with a hint of something fowl that I couldn't put my finger on and was glad that I couldn't. Luckily my near sickness went unnoticed by my giant blue captor who was now walking over to the very bloody duo. I nearly lost myself with how think the smell of the blood was but quickly clenched my jaw tightly before any could get through. Itachi pulled his arm out of the ANBU and quickly turned toward Kisame, his eyes glowing that very familiar red.

"They reacted faster than we had planned."

"They probably set them out and scattered them for us to find as we traveled to the border." Kisame growled out, failing to keep his cool.

"He was wired to, most likely told some others we were in the area." Itachi said as he started to shake the blood off his arm.

"Can we handle a fight now?"

"Not with an unknown number of ANBU. Our mission would be at risk since they seem to be allowed a free for all."

Now that was a term I was not familiar with. Yurushi often spoke about the ANBU since he planned to attempt to enter the group. From what he had told me and just my general habit to research anything I didn't know very well I learned that it was rather complicated. The ANBU were directly controlled by the Kage. Current position of ninja does not affect their chances of getting in ANBU, neither does gender, sexuality, age, or ethnicity. It was based completely on the persons own capabilities and special skills. There are no true ranks so leadership abilities are based on experience and merit; team leaders are considered to be very high up. They had a standard tattoo which the members wore; men had it on their left bicep and women on their right. Their purpose was to deal with high-risk missions, protect the village from exceptional threats, and very powerful enemy ninja. There was only one thing I really didn't like and that was the fact that the uniform was the same worldwide; you couldn't tell the difference between a group of ANBU from my country or another.

Anyway, these ninja were living, breathing, killing machines. It was basically their purpose in life to be violent. After I learned more about the group I wasn't so keen on Yurushi joining. I mean, he's already having problems expressing emotions as it is, with a rank like that he'd become a brick wall. However, as the civilian half sister, my opinion went unheard as the others pushed him to it. I still do not know if he made it or not.

"Breath." A soft voice said in my ear.

I took in a deep and shaky breath that I didn't know that I was holding. I blinked a few times and realized that we were walking again. I guess my mind had derailed a bit after I started to remember home. I always seem to do that when I start to think about it. Kisame had put his sword back and Itachi was walking ahead of us. Kisame was holding me like a toddler, one arm under the butt and the other on the back. I was still shaking and I didn't know why. The kill had been pretty clean; the only evidence of it being the smell of blood that covered Itachi's entire person. I only got sick to my stomach when I saw the actual body and all that stuff. No matter how much I chanted in my head that it was okay my body was still filled with such a paralyzing fear.

Kisame growled unhappily as he scanned the area.

"What kind of ANBU uses such strong killing intent on a normal civilian? I'm an S-class missing nin and even I wouldn't pull that kind of shit!"

"That's because you are too soft on your civilian targets Kisame." Itachi said as he looked back at us, his eyes still red and alert.

"Don't insult me and just tell me the plan." Kisame spit back, obviously not in the mood.

"We run, one ANBU is easy especially when they pull such a stupid stunt like that but when they are other better unformed ANBU and their numbers are unknown even we might had some trouble. It also doesn't help that they seem to be targeting all of us."

What? No fucking way. They are _not_ pulling that kind of shit on me! I've already gotten beaten, forced into perverted clothing by a giant blue man, and have been forced to walk who knows how far just so some ANBU bastard could come and kill me when they should really be saving me!? I don't think so! There had to be a mistake! I knew so much, texts that have been burned that were in the past highly regarded and jutsus' that could put Kage's to shame. If I was killed all that information would be lost, gone from the face of the earth. It had to be a misfiring or something, that's it. The ANBU just made a mistake since I'm not wearing the clothing that I had on when I was kidnapped. Right, that had to be it…It had to be. I shook my head and soon regretted that I had. My body was in no condition to handle quick movements like that. My chest seemed to be having trouble getting air and my stomach was less than happy.

Before I knew it my stomach flipped and I quickly covered my mouth. Vomit filled my mouth too quickly for me to swallow so I started to push away from Kisame in an attempt to avoid vomiting on him. Luckily he got the message. He dropped me on the ground and I started to heave up everything I could. The dumplings, the water, even minor bits of the food I had ordered a few days ago back home. My nerves crumbled under the remnants of the killing intent and I started to sob loudly and vomit. I must have looked an under mess. I could feel Kisame's stare on my back, Itachi was looking a different direction had I fell apart emotionally. After emptying my stomach so much that all I could do was dry heave and getting my sobs under some control I looked up at Kisame. I knew that I was quite the sight, my chin covered in vomit as the pile slowly oozed out on the ground, my clothing had survived the event but I now reeked of sickness. I quickly tried to clean my face of the tears and vomit as Kisame knelt next to me. He scooped me into his arms without much trouble and patted my back awkwardly.

"Don't worry; it gets the best of us."

I guess that was his way of being comforting. To be honest, it was preferred over his usually harsh tone greatly. My body was shot at this point now that the killer intent had finally loosened its grip on me. I was fine with letting them take me away, as long as that never happened again I really didn't care where they took me. Trust me, if you were in my shoes you would feel that same way. I let my head fall so that it was resting on Kisame's shoulder and allowed me to see what he saw. Itachi was ahead of us scanning the area. He turned quickly and stared at us for a moment.

"We need to move out and head to the east quickly. It's off the road but we'll be harder to target from long distances. Also the trees are bigger and thicker there so we can find good shelter for the night without a problem. We'll need to run the rest of the way to the border and hide out in a town or something until we can meet up with Kakuzu and Hidan."

Kisame gave a curt nod and they both started to run. I closed my eyes since my stomach was still a little upset. I had no idea where were going or even if we were on the ground any more. As they ran and jumped I returned to my rather depressing thoughts of home.

The ANBU having just shown themselves let on that the village had started to do something or another village somehow got word that I was running out and about with a couple of S-class criminals. The former was the more likely case. However, the fact that the ANBU's aim was completely off had me a little nerves. How can I feel good knowing that my rescue team was so clumsy!? It was as if they _wanted_ me to depend on my captors for survival! More importantly shouldn't they be trying a less violent approach? Had the ninja society completely forgotten about hostage-money exchange? It was simple things like this that made me wish that the actual people with brains were in charge. On the topic of smart people, when were my parents going to hear about my kidnapping if they haven't heard it yet. I mean, I'm a rather important person considering both my knowledge and genetics.

I guess thinking about this really isn't helping right now. At the moment I was technically in debt to my captor for saving my life. Now most people would pretend that never happened but I was raised to have manners so I felt it my duty to at least say thank you. However, saying thanks to someone like Kisame isn't the easiest thing to do especially when he's after my innocence. There was also the factor of thanking Itachi. How do you thank someone like him? More importantly did I really need to thank him? I mean, yeah, he did just save my life by shoving his arm through someone but I get the feeling he was only doing it out of necessity. Well, thinking to deeply about this will not make me feel any better so my best move right now would be to get my nerves back under control and there is no better calmer than a good nap. I let my mind drift into the peace of darkness and let memories of old consume me.

Ah yes, the good old days! Running around in the backyard with my toys and playing pretend. No violence, and no hate, just pure fun.

**"I don't want to be here mommy."**

What?

** "You have to come visit regularly honey and mommy can't watch over you all the time because mommy's customers need her full attention."**

Mom?

**"But mommy, I don't know like him."**

** "Don't say that sweetie, he is you father after all."**

** "He's mean and doesn't play with me like all the other daddy's do with the other kids."**

Oh, I remember this. It was one of my visit days at the mansion. Dad didn't want to be bothered with coming to get me himself so either mom took me to my visits or dad sent one of his many servants. After my birth dad's advisors hinted that it would be bad if I didn't make a good impression on people, especially with my heritage being what it was. I could get the hint even as a little kid that he was only keeping me close for his own benefit. I wonder why I'm remembering this of all things.

** "He's a busy man honey, he can't play with you like other daddy's. Just be a good girl like always okay sweetie?"**

** "Okay mommy."**

I was such an obedient child back then. Most kids that age would be kicking and screaming to stay home or do something else. Actually, now that I think about it, I was every parents dream child. I studied instead of make trouble, I kept my room nice and clean, I could cook and do laundry all by myself all before the age of twelve, and I could even recite poems and nursery rhymes from memory. My only flaw was that I didn't like to be near my father when it was most important for his image.

**"Seiyuuki-sama, it is good to see you again."**

** "Hello Mr. Tenshino!"**

Oh I remember him; he was a really nice guy! I remember that I would secretly pray at night that he would magically become my real father. He sure as hell played a lot more with me than my actual dad did. If I am correct, he was my father's personal advisor so I guess dad sent him to make sure I was following the rules and all that crap.

** "Are you ready to play today Seiyuuki-sama?"**

** "Yep!"**

** "Then let's go to the garden."**

Ah, the garden. It was such a pretty garden. All the trees were tall and green and the grass was wonderfully soft. I loved to sit by the pond for hours at a time and just watch the fish. Orokashii and Yurushi would often come to the garden and talk to me, if only because their nannies told them to. Orokashii was the funniest to talk to back then because he'd be distant most of the time but when I hurt myself he became the protective big brother, he just couldn't make up his mind. Yurushi on the other hand was the reason I became the book fanatic. He'd read to me when his nanny locked him in the same room with me. He got me interested in books far too high leveled for me to actually understand but I have to say if he never read to me my amazing memory for info would not exist. However there were some down sides to the garden…

**"Hello Tenshino."**

** "Hello Chika-sama." **

Like my father's wife, Chika. That woman made me want to kill myself more than once. She really knew how to destroy one's self-esteem. For some reason I could never look her in the face, I used to be able when the visit's first started but something happened, it was so long ago though that I just can't place my finger on it.

**"Tenshino, do you mind if I take Seiyuuki off your hands for a bit. I'm sure that my husband has you very busy."**

** "If you would like to miss, it is your choice."**

** "I very much would."**

** "Then by all means miss. I shall be on my way."**

Wait, what? Don't leave me with her! Where's the happy play time!? Where's the story books and uncertain Orokashii!?

**"Hello Seiyuuki, how are you today?"**

Oh don't even give me that crap. I know you hate me.

**"I am good Chika-sama, are you good too?**

** "Actually I'm not good today, would you like to know why?"**

** "…Sure."**

** "We can talk about it over tea then, inside the house."**

Don't follow her younger me! Run before she can hurt you emotionally! Oh crap she as cookies, I'm doomed.

**"So you want to know why I'm not good?"**

** "Yes mamma."**

** "Well, I'm heartbroken."**

What the heck is this? I don't remember this happening ever…sort of. Maybe this is a locked out memory from the early days. I remember reading that your brain naturally likes to pick out certain memories to keep at the front and other's to shove at the back. I suppose it's a way to keep the person stable and allow them to move on from major events.

**"Why?"**

** "Well, my husband did something bad that hurt me."**

** "Are you okay mamma?"**

** "No, and I never will be until my husband's mistake is fixed."**

** "Oh, sorry."**

** "Don't worry I'm going to fix it today."**

** "Oh, can I help?"**

** "Certainly."**

I…I think I know where this is going. It's on the tip of my tongue. Not in all my visit's do I remember ever being this close to this woman. Come to think of it, she usually stood far back and made rude comments from far away. She seems too happy, too friendly from what I naturally picture her as.

**"What's that mamma?"**

** "It's a ceremonial sword."**

Holy crap! Where did that thing come from!?

** "What does it do?"**

** "It removes evil from the world."**

** "Really!? Are you going to destroy some evil mamma?"**

** "Yes."**

Oh god.

I know that look.

Oh god, oh god.

**"What's the evil like?"**

** "It's small but I'm certain that the world will be better off without it."**

** "I wish you the best of luck mamma."**

** "I don't need your luck."**

Oh god.

** "Everyone needs some luck mamm-"**

** "I DON'T NEED LUCK FROM A DEMON SPAWN LIKE YOU!"**

Oh god, no.

** "IF YOU WERE NEVER BORN MY HUSBAND WOULD BE AT PEACE RIGHT NOW INSTEAD OF WORRYING WEITHER YOU ARE BEING RAISED PROPERLY IN ORDER TO TRY AND KEEP HIS NAME CLEAN! IF YOUR WHORE OF A MOTHER WAS FUCKING SMART ENOUGH TO TAKE SOME GOD DAMNED BIRTH CONTROL THEN NO ONE WOULD EVER HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR YOU, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF TRASH. YOUR MOTHER WOULD STILL BE FUCKING HOBO'S IN THE STREET AND MY HUSBAND'S NAME WOUL D STILL BE GOOD AND HONORABLE!"**

No, no, no, no, no.

** "So I'm going to do everyone a favor and end the suffering now so that we can all go back to normal and I can have my husband back. DIE YOU PIECE OF FILTH!"**

"NO!!"

I panted loudly as I shot up from the group. I can't believe I remembered that of all things, the day that I was nearly killed by my father's jealous wife. I had completely blocked that memory out after I had woken up in the hospital. I didn't remember a thing; I guess it was just to shocking for my young mind to handle. It does explain a lot though, that fear of looking her in the eyes, the fact that I was never allowed to be alone in the same room with her, the dark gaze she shot me from afar or at the dinner table. I guess I had a darker past than I realized. Even so it's not like it matters anymore. I'm now in the hands of a violent duo whose plans for me are unknown except for the fact that the biggest one wants to get in my pants. I blinked a few times since my eyes were blurry with tears. Wow, I had no idea I was crying, holy crap.

"Have a nightmare?"

I jumped at the voice and stared wide eyed at a meditating Itachi. We were in a very tight clearing, just enough space for us to sleep without rolling into the fire that sat in the middle. Kisame was snoring loudly in a tangle of large tree roots; they seemed to make a nice little hammock for his big frame. I looked back to Itachi nervously, without a doubt my face was as red as a beet. He was even more intimidating in the fire light. It made his already handsome features more shape and deadly. On top of that my only experience with being close to attractive males was when I spoke with my brothers and I had never really paid them much mind since we were genetically related.

"It is fine you don't have to answer."

Oh thank god. I don't think I'd be able to form proper sentences with him acting so calm and sophisticated. I continued to wipe my face dry as we sat near the fire quietly, to be honest he was great company when he wasn't acknowledging your existence. I preferred knowing someone was there without having to hear them speak anyway. The only time I liked to talk was when I really needed to be distracted or clam myself but right now, quiet was good. Sadly my stomach was thinking the exact opposite when it growled loudly. I blushed even more if possible and held my head a bit low.

"Here, eat this."

I looked up and saw a rather nice looking dumpling; it was big enough to fill a person pretty well. I took it slowly, unsure if it was a trick of the eye or an actual meal. After I confirmed that it was actual food I quickly started to eat it. I stared into the fire as I ate since I couldn't bring myself to look at Itachi and the thick forest around us was scaring me shitless.

"If you stare to long you'll hurt your eyes."

I blinked in surprise at Itachi's comment before moving my stare to the ground. I guess it was that tone of his that threw me off a bit. It reminded me of a mother telling her child to behave. He seemed to either not notice or ignore my shift in stare because he continued to speak, which was rather strange for the man that I often forgot was even there.

"It can really damage your vision if you're not careful; staring at a fire is similar to staring at the sun, though it is far less intense."

I finished my dumpling just as soon as he finished speaking about my eye sight and I looked at him. He seemed to have relaxed a bit, or at least stopped meditating, and was now staring at me, like, seriously staring at me. It was kind of creepy. It wasn't that he had any dangerous look in his eyes or anything, in fact his face was more like a blank wall and completely lacked any emotion what so ever. It was more like he was staring into my mind and shuffling through it as if it were a neatly labeled filing cabinet.

"What?" I asked coming off more uncertain then I wanted to.

"You look like someone I've seen before."

"Oh."

A heavy silence fell over us as he continued to stare at me. I guess he only ever stated the most basic information. He was a smart ninja.

"So, who do I look like?" I asked now rather curious who I would remind him of.

"A woman I met on the street in the border town of your country. She was very forward."

A little light dinged in the back of my head.

"Same skin tone?"

"Yes."

"Same eye color?"

"Yes."

"Same hair color?"

"Yes."

"Very well endowed?"

"Yes."

"Does she flirt with anything that moves?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's mom for you."

Oh god. That look on his face was priceless! It was as if he had just been told he was the father of some chick's baby when he didn't even remember having sex with her in the first place. However the look was short lived when he gathered his composer, that was the most emotion I'd seen on his face since I met the guy and I couldn't help but give a small smile at my mini victory against my evil captor.

"Your mother is a…"

"Prostitute? Whore? Home weaker? Don't worry I've heard them all and yes, she is."

Another silence fell upon us.

"Don't worry; many don't know what to say after they find out either."

"So that explains where you get your pretty figure from." A scratchy voice said.

I froze and any confidence I had in the conversation was gone. Kisame was awake.

"Oh don't be like that girl, I've heard the whole thing since you've woken up. You scream pretty damn loud. I'm going to have to remember to put up a silence barrier around the room once we get our alone time."

I think a paled a bit at that statement. That also explained why Itachi was being so friendly, he was trying to get me to talk so that Kisame could here.

"It's rude to listen in on conversations of mine without getting my permission first Kisame, you're damn well lucky that we're partners or I would have killed you. Also work on your fake sleeping a bit more I knew you were awake as soon as your breathing pattern changed."

…or not.

"Don't be like that Itachi; this is the most the little brat has spoken since we've taken her. The most she's said to me were sniveling questions about what she will wear. I can't help but be curious about her. You have to admit you'd do the same thing if you were in my shoes."

"Hmm."

"Anyway back to the conversation, so your mommy's a hooker eh girl? That must mean you have no clue who your daddy is, right?"

I really didn't want to answer him since he ticked me off but I couldn't help but picture the bloody circumstances if I didn't. On top of that now that I could no longer have peace and quiet I might as well get some things off my chest and maybe possibly get the annoying blue man to call me by my actual name.

"Wrong."

"Oh so you know! Well that's a surprise! I never knew who my dad was. Well, I didn't know my mother either." He said ending with a big hearty laugh.

"Well I do."

"So whose little girl are you? I bet some lazy slob that had a low paying job, right?"

"He may be a lazy slob but he's actually pretty rich."

Kisame laughed again and quickly shuffled his way out of his tree room hammock. He walked over and took a seat next to me, way to close for comfort in fact. He then smiled that creepy smile and got in my face. I was kind of scared that I said something to make him angry but what he said next put me a bit at ease.

"So you have a sense of humor eh? There aren't many people that are willing to crack a joke when their life is on the line."

"There aren't many kidnappers that try to make friends with the kidnapped." I say sort of testing the waters to see where I could take my sarcasm.

"To shay."

Once again a silence fell over us and I didn't know what to say. This was the most I have ever talked to someone without it being a strict information exchange. It was kind of disturbing. Had I really been so antisocial? It would explain why I didn't have a boyfriend yet when I looked the way I do, not to be gloating or anything.

"So girl, who's your daddy? Some old rich man that without a doubt it was a miracle that you were even conceived?"

"No."

"Then who?"

"The Daimyo."

What is with all these awkward silence!? They are getting really annoying really fast! I mean come on! Did neither of these guys do their research? And I thought they were good ninja, they may be strong but they don't know anything! Seriously, If I had the power to and did not risk my own life I would have slapped these two silly!

"Well that explains the ANBU." Itachi stated.

"It doesn't explain their lousy aim though." I say.

The two men looked at each other in a way that said they thought I was crazy.

"What?"

"The ANBU don't miss, they always get their target one way or another. If you were in anyone else's hands you'd be dead by now. Only reason you aren't is because you are our mission and I still have yet to have my fun." Kisame explained.

"But, I'm the victim here. On top of that the knowledge in my head could put the libraries of any other ninja villages to shame."

Okay, maybe I'm gloating a little there but I am pretty damn smart. There was no other librarian in the whole country that could give the exact book you need on the first try or quote fully detailed paragraphs from a book from memory alone.

"Oh really? Then what do you know?"

"That is classified."

And it was half of the jutsus I know are completely and utterly forbidden. Not even the Kage would touch them with a ten foot pole. They were also old to boot, most probably forgotten about in favor of similar and weaker versions. I guess old habits die hard since even in my situation I still refused to speak of them. But hey, if you had intense loyalty shoved into your face ever since you were able to speak you'd understand where I was coming from.

"Yeah, sure, you're just in denial that you are being look at as something that is expendable."

"I am not!"

"Then prove it. Tell me something."

I stared at Kisame hard seeing if I could get him to back off. It wasn't working. So I went for another option and decided to give him what he wanted…sort of.

"What's your chakra type?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"Please tell me you know that you ability to do certain jutsus depends on your chakra type, I don't think I could stop myself from laughing if you didn't."

Wow, I was really being friendly with these people, a little too friendly. If anyone ever saw me like this what would they think? Would they assume I joined their side? That's it! I must have been acting like I was their friend, that's why the ANBU attacked me! Oh man I better watch how I act around these guys, I might give myself more trouble than I would have liked.

"Don't undermined me girl, I'd kill you in an instant if it weren't for the fact that you are our mission." Kisame warned in a dark tone.

Okay, time to stop pushing my luck and become the innocent victim. At this rate I might actually become their friend!

"So what is your type?"

"Guess."

I stared at him a long time. The expression on his face was as serious as ever. I wanted to yell at him but I knew that if we were being watched it would come off as a friendly argument. I couldn't afford to seem nice to them. I had to stay as emotionless as possible when talking to them and not seem willing to do as they asked. But even with that little fact in mind I was actually curious about his chakra type. At first guess I would say water, considering the blue skin. Even I knew that something had to be up with that, also the fact that his teeth were similar to a sharks kind of gave away that he had some connection with the element. However, there was something about him that said he could do more. I read about some people that had a sort of mix in chakra type making it so that they could learn two different element type jutsus very well instead of just one. I could be possible that he could do more. Maybe something land related, with such a large size I couldn't see much else being to his ability.

Luckily, or unluckily, something caught Kisame's attention before I could give him an answer. It also caught Itachi's as well and that made me a little worried. I would freak out if it turned out to be one of those ANBU. I looked at the two men and saw that their attention was focused behind me. Oh great. Why couldn't it have appeared to my left or right? Why!? I knew that I would regret this later but I had to look. My natural curiosity was eating away at the back of my head and if I didn't then my fear of the unknown would send me flying into my captors arms for protection again and I was already at risk at looking like their friend. I told a shaky breath and turned to join them in their staring.

I did not like what I saw.

(A/N: And I leave you to ponder what she saw, but onto more serious matters. I have a serious question to ask and I want all my readers' honest opinion on this okay? I am thinking of putting a lemon scene in the story, later on of course but it never hurts to think a little into it. Anyway, I want to know if anyone would be bothered by it so that I know if I need to put it in a separate chapter or not. That way people who want to read it can and those that don't can skip it without missing too much. Please leave a review with your opinion and as soon as I think I've heard what the majority would like I can take it from there.)


	4. The Battle

(A/N: I am so sorry this took so long to post but I was in the middle of moving when I started this chapter and then when I came back to it I had some really bad writers block! Then school kept me busy and getting my room together took away from my free time! Also this is shorter than the usual but I think I've left you guys waiting long enough so here you go! I'll get to work on the nest on a.s.a.p!)

"Yurushi!"

Oh thank god it was a familiar face! I jumped up to go run to him but something grabbed my arm and pulled me back. Oh yeah, Kisame and Itachi were within reach…DAMNIT! I squirmed in Kisame's grasp and tried to pry him off but failed.

"Let me go you big monster!"

"Don't be an idiot girl this man isn't here to save you!"

"Of course he is look at hi-"

Wow, that is one scary face. He looked just like Itachi in the fire light, deadly and heartless with a hint of peace. His white armor gleamed in the light and made my eyes hurt a bit, wait white armor? Holy crap he has an ANBU uniform on! So he did actually make it. But what did Kisame know about my brother? He only had emotional expression problems he wasn't completely emotionless.

"Yurushi you're here to save me right? Dad wouldn't like it if I died, neither would the Kage I am sure! What will they do without the information I know?"

"That information is expendable." He replied coldly.

Ouch, that hurt. It felt like he just stabbed me in the back with a fishing knife. I guess he's acting to get these guys to think I'm not important.

"Then I'll forget it! Just use a memory wipe on me or something and I'll learn all the important stuff!"

"That isn't an option."

Okay, enough with the acting Yurushi, hurry up and save me!

"I'm only here to give you a head start."

Wait, What?

"Hmm, that's nicer than a lot of ANBU that I've met, why the kind notion?" Kisame asked.

"We grew up together; it's only natural that I at least give her a chance to run."

How could he be so cold? We were siblings, if only half siblings. I always gave him a birthday present even when his parents were too busy to have a party, I played all the games he liked to play and I even let him tell me what to read! How can he shove it to the side so easily and try to kill me!?

"Yurushi…" I said, my voice getting shaky from held back tears.

"I'll give you an hour. After that my squad and I will be after you without a second thought."

He then turned around and disappeared into the trees. I was left to sit in the silence of the clearing as Kisame and Itachi thought over the information out loud.

"Pack up everything." Itachi said.

"Put out the fire." Kisame replied as he let me go and went about his business.

I didn't try to run after him, I don't think I'd be able to handle that cold face again without falling prey to my own fear. Also the general shock still had a firm grasp on me. My brain just couldn't wrap around the fact that my whole childhood with Yurushi could have been a lie. Was Orokashii the same way? Did he think I was expendable now as well? Did my mother know that I was now being targeted as an enemy just because I had been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Hell did mom even care? Did anyone ever care about me? Was I just an accident that they thought they could take advantage of until I was no longer useful?

"Get up." Kisame said, interrupting my train of thought.

I blinked a few times and realized that it was now much darker without the fire, the only light being the very small bit of moon light that slipped through the leaves. Something was resting at my side and it turned out to be the backpack of stuff they had given me a few days ago. I had wondered where they had been hiding it; I guess they thought that I wouldn't try to run off on my own now that I knew a group of experienced killers was after me. They were right as well, natural instinct was now talking to me and it gave me three basic rules. Don't runaway, don't get caught, and stay alive by any means necessary.

I stood and I think for the first time looked at Kisame with courage and not fear, even if it was covered in tears.

"What can I do to help?"

I thought I took him by surprise but he just smiled and adjusted his sword on his back so it was easy to reach.

"Hmm, so you are a smart girl after all. Well, now that you understand your position there's just one thing you need to know. _Don't _get in my way."

I nodded my head and took a deep breath to try and keep myself from breaking down. It was really hard when my mind kept yelling at me that this was wrong and that my brother wasn't my enemy. Whether my mind accepted it or not I knew deep down in my heart the Yurushi made his choice and I now had to make mine, and mine was to live, live and forget. Itachi walked over to us and made me jump a little since in the dark I couldn't really tell where he was coming from. All I heard was the sound of his feet. I suppose he knew there was no point trying to be quiet since we had an hour to run away.

"We leave now, we can't afford to waste time standing here."

"Right, come here girl. You'll slow us down if we let you walk." Kisame said.

I tensed a bit knowing he had a valid point. I was nowhere near as fast as them when it came to running. All they had to do was walk to catch up with me. I nodded my head and walked over to Kisame slowly. He picked me up without much trouble and we were off. I kept my eyes open this time since I wanted to see what it was like when they ran.

It was amazing.

Everything was a blur of black, dark brown and dark green. The moonlight was like sparkles through the thick cover of leaves, if I didn't know any better I would have said that we were in plain sight under the night sky. I knew I was smiling a bit at the sight but the feelings of sadness and anger bubbled under my skin and made sure the smile didn't last very long. I guess I felt betrayed if not completely abandoned. Hell, I guess I should have seen this coming. I was the daughter of one of the most important men in the country and a hooker, without a doubt they would take whatever chance they could get to eliminate the problem, they just had to wait nineteen years to get it. I also knew a lot of information that could put them in danger if it got in the wrong hands and with me lacking any ability to defend myself and my captors at such a high fighting level it seems they're taking the easy way out. However I couldn't accept that. I would not die without a fight on my part.

Now the only question now was who do I trust? I mean Kisame and Itachi were okay for a temporary alliance but full blown trust was still a little hard for me, considering the circumstances of us being together in the first place. My trust and respect for my country was gone completely, well mostly. I still had a minor bit of respect for the civilians since at least they knew a smart person when they saw one. I wasn't all that happy that it turned out this way but I think I only had one person left that I could really trust.

My mom.

Now considering my mother's level in society I would have to bet that she talked to my father as often as rats are welcomed in the kitchen. I only remember them ever speaking really closely with each other in my earlier years. That man really was a player, and if I know the man he liked his girls young and fresh so mom was obviously now off his list. But did they tell mom lies to keep her out of the loop? What if they told her I'd gone bad or something? I couldn't afford to attract attention when my only hope of survival was high leveled missing criminals. They would be in deeper trouble than I was and I was in some pretty deep shit. I had to also talk to my mother, if not to tell her that I was okay but to possibly say a last goodbye to the woman since it didn't seem like I would be coming back any time soon.

"We're being followed." Itachi said plainly, bring me out of my thoughts.

"What!? It hasn't even been fifteen minutes yet!"

"It's not the ANBU."

Not the ANBU? Then who else could be-

"About damn time they make their entrance, if I know Kakuzu he's usually so much earlier than this. I bet one of Hidan's stupid rituals held them back a bit."

Oh, those two. I believe Kisame had mentioned them back at the Inn after they got the letter. At least we had a little more man power on our side now and maybe I could get off on a better foot with these two. If I had to be dependent on someone I might as well take advantage of the new guy's right? A bit of motion out of the corner of my caught my attention and I turned to face it. To my left where two new additions to our group one big and the other small, just like Kisame and Itachi, however this time it was the smaller one carrying the big weapon; a large three blade sythe with a chain at the end so that it could be thrown and not be lost easily. They were wearing the strange hats that Itachi and Kisame seemed to be able to generate and hide at will. Not that it mattered since I could barely see them in the dim light anyway.

"Holy fucking crap, what did you fucking idiots get yourselves into? More importantly who's the bitch?"

Woah, looks like someone needs to wash their mouth out with soap.

"We can have introductions later. Right now we need to lose the group of ANBU." Itachi said in response.

"Fucking ANBU? Do they want the bitch back?"

"Not exactly." Kisame said before I could reply myself.

I guess it was for the best for him to answer instead of me. I would only retort back negatively with him using all those curse words and for someone smaller than Kisame he seemed pretty strong, not physically but something told me fighting with the guy would be pointless. The bigger one was silent and didn't even give me the time of day and I was okay with that, the less attention I get right now the better I feel. I knew they were curious though, who wouldn't be? I was a lamb among wolves; my place was to be in a green meadow, not a dark forest. I looked forward in the direction of where we were going and noticed Itachi was leading the way. In the dark he looked like a demon, a beautiful demon that would kill me if I had no purpose. I wanted to cry out loud at that moment. To tell the pretty man leading to make this beast let me go and leave me to die. Even so I held my tongue, there was no point trying to end my life when there was so much I had yet to do.

"They are coming." A sinister voice said.

It was the taller one of the new additions to the group and that voice of his made held a tone of experience and wisdom; things that no normal life span could gain, I hate to admit that I was a tinny bit jealous that he sounded so smart because whenever I told people things they'd question me with their eyes. Had it really been an hour though? I couldn't tell. The forest was getting closer and becoming more wild and deadly. Were we going deeper? Didn't we have to go to the border? I looked behind us and only saw black until suddenly we weren't in the trees any more. We entered a big field covered with giant boulders, some stilling out of the ground at weird angles. It also steep inclines and giant tree roots, in others words it was a former battle field. It look like it had mostly healed, places where ground had be broken now covered in thick green grass. We hopped over to a group of giant rocks and Kisame tucked me away within a tight corner. I looked up at him curiously but he just held a finger to his lips and gave me a wordless command to stay still. He and the rest of the gang then went to the other side to keep look out. I could hear a faint conversation, most likely them making a battle plan. I couldn't believe they were planning to take on the ANBU, they didn't even know how many there were! I wish I could help but I'd just get in the way if I tried anything. It got quiet suddenly and I leaned closer to the rock as if trying to hear what was happening on the other side. It was faint but I could hear two people, I couldn't make out what they were saying or which side was even talking but they were. It went silent again and I couldn't hear anything. I started to get nervous but I knew that peeking was risky.

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the voice of the bad mouthing creep that joined us. I guess someone pushed his buttons; either that or he was mentally insane. The jutsus and summons filled the air and the traditional puffs of smoke slowly started to float over me and fade away. I could hear the sounds of knives clashing and people dying. The occasional creepy laugh filled the air; its source the strange cussing man with his sythe. I didn't dare peek to see who was winning or if there was even anybody moving and this was all just a sham to make me try to run out and help. Something landed next to me with a sudden thunk and I looked to see someone's disembodied head. I sucked in a wave of air naturally as if to scream but quickly covered my mouth with my hand and crawled away from the body part as much as possible. I bit my tongue to try and keep myself calm, reminding myself that if I made to much noise then I'd be just like that person. Suddenly the head started to move and I stopped breathing. The silver white hair that was covering most of the face was being blown by a rather weak breath coming from the mouth of the head.

I slowly reached out to the head and moved the hair to be greeted with bright pinkish purple eyes and a toothy grin from ear to ear.

"Hey bitch, do me a favor and toss me back over would ya? There aren't many of those fuckers left and Kisame's got the whole field covered in some fucking thick mist so nobody will see."

I stared at the head dumbfounded and slack jawed, it was definitely a sight to see. It wasn't everyday that you ran into a person that could still talk when their head was removed. I slowly grabbed the head at the base of the skull and picked it up with both hands. I had a feeling asking questions now was a bad idea so I bit my lip, gulped down the bile climbing up my throat and tossed the head back over with all the force I could muster. A loud thunk followed by a string of curses came soon after and guess that he must have landed on one of the many rocks. I quickly crawled back to my corner and wiped my hands on the ground as if it was water and soap instead of dirt and grass. A shadow cast over my hands suddenly and I knew that what was standing in front of me was no friend. I didn't dare raise my head, instead opting for keeping it down so that they wouldn't slit my throat. The figure approached and the shadow of the kunai in its hand disappeared from my view as it was raise for the killing blow.

I knew fighting wasn't an option here nor was running since I was cornered with my back to some sharp steep rocks. Screaming would be pointless and crying would get me nowhere but I didn't want to die, not yet. I could feel the ANBU in front of me staring at me, probably thinking about how pitiful I looked. Then I did the unthinkable, I pounced. Like a wild cat having been cornered and having no other way to escape I charged and hit the ANBU before me in the gut with my shoulder. I heard the breath get knocked out of him and then a sickening crack before the body went limp in my hands. I stayed perfectly still against the body, not being able to believe that I actually attacked an ANBU willingly. I eventually look up to see the ANBU; his mask that of a bear and blood dripping down from the back of his head. I guess I made him hit his head on the rocks, which could knock out anyone if they were hit hard enough. I pulled back from the unmoving man before me and noticed that there was no more fighting.

"Hey bitch, are you still alive in there!? You made me hit my fucking head on five different rocks you whore!"

I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding in at the sound of the crazy man's voice. He may have had a very vulgar vocabulary but from what I could tell he seemed kind of happy. Did they win then?

"Come on out girl, I have something for you." Kisame called as I heard a hardy smack be delivered to someone and then a string of cusses fill the air.

I gulped and quickly started to climb over the rocks the best I could. It took me awhile but when I did get over I was greeted with a very bloody mess. Bodies were everywhere, so missing limbs and others burnt so bad I didn't even think they were people for a moment, and the moonlight only made the scene more eerie. All four of the criminals were standing with their backs to the moon so their faces were covered in horrid shadow. It was like one of those horror novels you saw in the adult section of the library. I could feel the vomit in my throat and unable to stop it I quickly ducked behind a nearby bolder and emptied my stomach. After I got to the point where I could only dry heave I walked back over to the others.

"Damn, you really picked up a pansy Kisame, what's the bitch here for anyway?"

"Pein requested that we get some information, sadly we weren't expecting that the only one to know it would be her." Kisame said as I stopped in front of them. "Here, take this."

I looked up at him before looking to his hand to see a kunai, clean and dry. I took it carefully before he stepped back. I looked to where he once was and my jaw almost dropped. There was Yurushi, bruised and beaten but not dead, just living by a thread. Blood was dripping from his mouth and his once cold blank eyes were glossed over with tears of pain that refused to spill. He was staring at me though, the rest of his face calm and peaceful.

"He requested that we let you kill him," The wise sounding one said. "It seemed fine since he's going to die either way. If you don't kill him not the wounds he has will kill him slowly."

"I say we leave the bastard to rot here until he receives his judgment from Jashin-sama!" The cursing one said as he adjusted his weapon on his shoulder. I looked to his throat to see no mark or scar even though moments earlier his head was in my hands.

"No, he dies now, either by her hands or one of ours." Itachi said as he walked up to me. "Kill him."

"I…I can't he-" I started to say.

"Yes you can."

I looked over to Yurushi who was now attempting to sit up higher with his one working limp which was his right arm. He stared me down like he did when we were kids and started to couch up some blood.

"It's only fair since I tried to kill you, that you kill me. Also…I would feel ashamed if I died by any other hand."

"But what about your-"

"I told her I wouldn't be coming back. She's prepared to hear of my death."

A silence so stifling and depressing came over us I started to cry.

"No…please don't make me do this…" I begged him. Even if he did try to kill me the memories I've had of him were so kind and wonderful, I didn't want my last one to be so evil.

"If you don't they will, either you kill me yourself or they kill me for you. Which one do you think you'll feel worse for?"

He knew me so well, he knew just what to say even while he was dying. I took a few steps toward him and knelt down in front of him so that only he could hear me.

"You were the best brother I even had…You played with me and treated me just like part of the family, even though we usually played what you like…" I said trying to smile and lighten the mood.

"You were the best little sister."

"I was your only little sister."

"I know but I thought it would fit the mood." He said with a half hearted smile.

"…Yurushi?"

" Yes Seiyuuki ?"

"I-I'm sorry." I say placing the knife gently against his throat.

"I know…"

"I love you brother…"

"Love you too."

I took a big breath and closed my eyes tightly before forcing the knife into his neck. I sliced through his skin easily. He let out a sickening gurgle as I removed the knife and let his body fall to the side. I kept my eyes closed as the blood from the blade dripped onto my hand and on the ground. I gasped suddenly after that, I lost control and started to scream. I cried and threw the knife away from me as I took my one clean hand and covered my face.

"YURUSHI!! YURUSHI!! OH GOD YURUSHI!!"

I sobbed loudly into my arm and curled up on myself as the rest watched me. I wasn't strong like them; I didn't kill for a living like them. I wasn't built to handle that. I could feel them staring at me wordlessly judging with their eyes. I felt so alone, surrounded by these dead bodies and villains. I started to shake uncontrollably as my body spazzed with some unknown energy that I never knew I had. Before long someone grabbed me and picked me up. I was still spazzing as we walked off toward the trees again. The others voices melded together in my ears before I finally passed out in the arms of someone. I decided from that moment on that I never ever wanted to wake up from that darkness, because it was so much better than facing the truth and the light.


	5. The Village

Numb, it was a very_ very_ good word to describe how I felt right at the moment. I couldn't feel anything and I was glad for that. I knew that if I could my heart would be leaping out of my chest, my hands would be burning in sin, and my head would ache with guilt. That's normal though, for someone that just killed their sibling, or at least I would think that it would be normal. This is the first time I have ever willingly taken life. Oh crap I feel sick again. Not like it would matter though, there was nothing for me to vomit left except for the very acid in my stomach. The darkness around me didn't seem so heavy anymore and I could feel the sensations that I didn't want to feel take over my person. I could feel my body trying to wake up even though I didn't personally want to. I really needed to stop passing out, it was messing with my sleeping patter n. I sighed to myself, seeing no point in trying to fight my natural reactions to over sleeping, and slowly opened my eyes.

I was greeted with the early morning, the sky a mix of red, orange, purple, and blue. Somewhere off to my left was the beginning of a sunrise covered by a giant think forest. We were in another field, possibly the same one from the night before, but I couldn't tell from where I was laying. I could hear someone snoring to my right and I turned my head to look at them. It was Kisame, his cloak underneath him as a make shift sleeping mat. I blinked a few times before realizing that I was also on his cloak. I looked back to his face which was close to mine and I couldn't help but stare. It wasn't the most handsome face but you could see some beauty in it. He had a very strong jaw and high cheek bones, the making for a very strong looking face. The shape of his eyes, even though they were closed, was built for intimidation. He also had the body to go with it, tall, muscled, and frightening. If it weren't for the fact that he was blue and most likely mentally insane, I bet mom would have sunken her teeth into him. I looked back to the sky before sitting up.

There was a small fire in the middle of a grassy patch surrounded by rocks, a nice little nook for people like us to hide and rest. The white haired man whom I frankly was not all that fond of was sleeping on a patch of rocks over to my right while Itachi and the other tall nin were sitting by the fire talking. I couldn't hear them because I was just too dazed to really pay attention. I looked around some more before a voice caught my attention.

"Come here."

I looked back to Itachi to see he was staring at me, motioning with his hand for me to come over. I stood slowly and walked over to them before taking a seat on the other side of Itachi. He help out a small bread roll to me.

"Eat it."

I took the bread without question but really didn't eat it, more like picked at it slowly, because my stomach was telling me food would be a bad idea right now. The wise sounding nin was staring at me, I could feel his gaze and it wasn't mean or evil, just curious. That made sense since I would have to guess that it wasn't everyday that they had to protect someone like me. I really didn't feel comfortable with him staring at me. I could just feel the questions hanging in the air that he wanted answers to but I didn't want to give, I really didn't feel like talking to anyone right then. Itachi seemed to understand that right off and went back to talking to him. Either that or he wasn't done with what they were talking about before. I decided to listen in this time since there wasn't much else to do.

"We need to get rooms at an inn, staying in the forest is to dangerous right now and we can't afford another fight like that, Leader-sama would not be happy if we attracted to much attention from this country."

"The inns are too expensive in the village we are going to, we'll stay in the forest near the town. That way we can get the bounty without too much trouble and not spend any money on that trivial matter."

"Kakuzu, I think you know that none of us can stand one more day out here like this and the girl is going to either die of starvation from all the vomiting or take her own life in depression. A stay at an inn would be for the best, for all of us. "

What? Me kill myself? I barely had the heart to kill my brother, only doing so after he convinced me and guilted me into it. I didn't think I was that depressed looking. I guess I must have looked like crap if Itachi thought that I looked that sad. I picked up a strand of my hair and examined it. It was greasy, and the tip had a bit of dried vomit. I looked to my clothes and they were covered in dirt and sweat. Okay, I guess I looked like I could use a little work.

"Have you ever been to the village of Tanake, Itachi? It's prostitute central in this country. The inns are twice as expensive because the whores use them twenty for seven, and with the prostitution laws here they get discounts in inns. So to make ends meet the inn owners double the price for actual visitors."

Wait, did he say Tanake? Mom lived in Tanake! I could see mom! If I got a chance to see mom then I could hug her and cry on her to my heart's content! I turned to look at them and started to speak but was interrupted.

"Then all of them shall be sacrificed to Jashin-sama!" The crazy cursing man said as he walked over to us.

"No, we can't bring to much attention to ourselves." Itachi said, sounding slightly irritated.

"Then we can stay in the forest, why should we spend money on something as simple as an inn?" The one known as Kakuzu said, sounding just as irritated.

"We could just kill a prostitute and take her room you know." The crazy one added.

"No killing prostitutes, it's a waste of your energy and will attract too much attention to us." Itachi retorted again.

"Just like spending that much money on an inn is a waste of my energy! We stay in the forest!" Kakuzu said angrily.

I was really starting to question if these where really high class killers or a newlywed couple arguing over where to spend their money on their honey moon. I tried to speak again but the Kisame entered the argument.

"What are you fighting about? It's too early for this and too dangerous." Kisame asked in a harsh whisper as he got up and walked over to us.

"Itachi wants to spend money just to stay at an inn in Tanake! I say we'll be just fine in the forest."

"None of us would be very happy if we ran into another fight like the one before, and just look at the girl, she'll probably kill herself before the day is over." Itachi argued back harshly, most likely fed up with Kakuzu.

"I still say we just kill a prostitute and take her room." The crazy one said.

"No one cares about what you have to say Hidan." Kakuzu said calmly.

"Shut the fuck up you stupid grandpa!" The crazy one known as Hidan yelled.

"Shut up Hidan you are being too loud! Do you want to attract attention to us!?" Kisame growled at him.

The fight proceeded to escalate as I watched quietly from the side. I was really having trouble picturing these men being the cold blooded killers from before. They were too loud and full of life while the men from before were solemn, mentally insane and blood thirsty. Also it was almost impossible to try and get a word in.

"Um…hey."

"Don't tell me to shut up you fucking fish man! I can be as loud as I want to be!"

"I may look like a fish but at least I'm not some fucking creepy zombie wannabe!"

"No inn, we stay in the forest."

"The forest is to dangerous right now; we need to wait for things to cool over."

"Hey, I know-"

"I'll kill you, you giant fishy moron!"

"Bring it on you religious nut job!"

"If you want an inn then spend your own money."

"You know that you're the only one with enough money in the group."

"Hello?"

I found it pointless to try and talk to them so I guess it would be for the best if I just got up and left them to their fight. It'd be safer for me to avoid it anyway. I looked around the clearing we had again and noticed a kunai on the ground. I picked it up and walked over to one of the bigger rocks. I remembered a thing one of my tutors did to wake me up when I fell asleep when she was teaching. She would take her long manicured nails and run them down the chalkboard slowly so that she made this high pitched screech that would ring in my ears for a few minutes afterward. I guessed it wouldn't hurt to try out the same thing on these guys; it sure was a hell of a lot safer than trying to get in the middle of them.

I took the kunai and placed the tip against the rock before turning to the others. They were still fighting loudly and starting to get a bit violent between Hidan and Kisame. I turned back to the rock and proceeded to drag the kunai down the rock slowly. The screech it made was loud and penetrating to the ears, making them all become silent quickly. I didn't stop with the noise until I reached the ground with the knife. I looked back to them after that and set the kunai on the ground again. Kisame and Hidan had covered their ears while Kakuzu and Itachi were staring at me wordlessly.

"I…I know a place where we can stay for free in Tanake." I said softly, bowing my head in fear since I just pulled a risky move.

"Free?" They all said in unison.

"Yeah…My mom…she lives in Tanake."

A moment of silence passed over the group of men before the white haired Hidan let out a hallow laugh.

"I guess that makes your mom a fucking prostitute, eh?" He laughed at his own little joke but I just brushed it off.

"So? What's your point?"

That quickly shut him up. There was another silence before Itachi stood up.

"We'll stay there then, that is if your mother can cooperate."

"She will, don't worry."

"…Fine." Kakuzu said as he stood as well.

"Whatever." Hidan replied as he walked over to his stuff.

Kisame stayed quiet and walked back to his own things was well. I took a slow breath and went back to seat at the fire as the others packed up their things. It didn't take them too long to clean up and pack. When they were ready to go the sun rise was almost over but the rest of the day was still ahead of us. Kisame tossed the backpack with my things next to me and I picked it up slowly and threw it over my shoulder. I stood and looked at them for a moment. Kakuzu and Hidan were standing a bit off, ready to start moving, Itachi was near them, scanning the area before we moved out and Kisame was next to me, his hand held out slightly for me to take. I took it obediently and let him fling me into his arms before he walked over to the others. We spent the rest of the morning running and jumping through the trees. I watched as the trees passed by at high speeds, sometimes almost getting my head taken off by a stray branch. We didn't get close to Tanake until mid afternoon; we must have gotten really off course when we were running from the ANBU. We were taking a rest outside of the city before we went in, Itachi give us a game plan to follow.

"We'll all go in with the girl leading us to where her mother lives. As far as the mother is concerned we are all companions traveling for business in another country and the girl is coming with us. We'll give it a week to get the bounty and then leave as soon as Kakuzu and Hidan report to leader-sama and get on their way."

"Alright, let's do this." Kisame said as he looked to me. "You better act convincing girl, the last thing we need to deal with is an angry mother."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Kakuzu said calmly as he straightened his funny hat, I had yet to see his face.

Hidan just snorted as he put his own hat on and sealed away his weapon with a single poof. Kisame did the same but his poof was much bigger, and for a minute I think the sword growled unhappily before disappearing. I think I was going insane from too much mental stress. After all four of the men had put on their hats and covered up their identities I lead them into the city.

It wasn't much a town unlike my old home, the buildings here didn't get much higher than four stories, and usually that was only for the inns. It was the kind of place where bad people stopped to rest and avoid running into any real law enforcement. However, for it's less than positive history the town had a large family population, and that's only because some of the prostitutes couldn't afford birth control. The kids that lived here were very street smart though, I know because I used to be one of them. They could swindle a giant wad of cash out of a poor traveler's hand without them even realizing that they were doing it. It would seem low for a kid to use their cute looks for that kind of thing but it was better than going hungry when mom or dad couldn't bring in the bacon. I lead the four men through the crowded street easily unnoticed; even though it was easy to tell we didn't belong here no one seemed to care, it was normal for killers and insane people to wander through every now and then.

"Oh my god, Seiyuuki!? Is that you?" I heard a shrill voice call from across the street.

I turned to look who called my name and couldn't help but smile back happily.

"Hello Hitoshi-san! It is nice to see you again." I said to the approaching woman.

She was very tall, like Kisame, and slightly lanky but she made up from it in having a very large bust, it didn't seem to fit her thin frame but she swore on her mother's grave that they were natural. I hadn't seen her since I moved in with my brother's and started to work at the library.

"Oh you look like a mess Seiyuuki! What happened to you?"

"I fell in some mud on the way here. I haven't had a chance to clean up though."

"Oh you poor thing, who are your friends honey?" She asked as she motioned to the four men behind me.

"Well,…I'm going out of the country for business and will be gone for awhile, these are the people I'm working with."

"Ah, I see. Nice to meet you gentlemen." She said waving slightly to them before looking back down at me. "I guess you'll be gone long enough that you have to tell your mom right?"

"Y-yeah, I don't want her flipping out or anything, ya know?"

"Yep, I understand girl. But let me tell you she won't be home right now, she works an early morning shift nowadays since you left. She's too into the habit of spending the afternoon with you like old times."

"Oh, I see… do you know where she is then?" I ask nervously since this kind of messed up the plan.

"I think she's somewhere near the old bathhouse near her apartment, she still lives in the same one you used to."

"Ah, thank you Hitoshi-san, I'll see you around then."

"See you darling, tell your mom I said hi alright?" she said as she walked away and down a nearby alley.

I sighed and rubbed my face with my hand. I really didn't want to bug mom on the job but I didn't want these guys to kill me either. I also wanted to avoid them seeing her in action; she was completely different person when she was working.

"Well, lead the way, Seiyuuki…" Kisame said, I could tell he was grinning by the sound of his voice.

I sighed again before heading toward the old bathhouse. It took a bit of time since it wasn't the easiest path to follow but when we got there I saw her. She was all painted up in thick make up. Her dress showed far too much for my liking and her shoes added another six or seven inches at least to her height. She had her hair in a high ponytail and a look of seduction in her eyes. At first glance you'd think we were sisters and not mother and daughter. I walked over to her and the sound of us approaching caught her attention. At first her expression didn't change until she noticed me, then she became a different person.

"BABY! Oh honey what are you doing here?! I'm glad to see you but you could have at least sent me a letter or something that you were coming! I would have made sure I wasn't working!"

Mom was so easy to get into mother mode it was frightening. She'd go from full time prostitute to full time mom with a snap of her fingers.

"Sorry mom, it was a last minute thing and I didn't have time to send one." I lied as she skipped over the rest of the way to me and hugged me tightly.

"It's alright honey, I forgive you. So why are you here anyway? It's not like you to step out of the village."

"Business, I'll be in a different country for awhile."

"How long is awhile?"

"Long enough that you probably won't be able to contact her for a year." Kisame slipped in as he and the others walked over to us.

"A year!? Baby why!?"

"Work mom, I got to make money somehow." I lied again. It really hurts that I have to lie to her but it's for her own safety.

"I guess you came to say goodbye then?" She asked sadly.

"Sort of, me and my coworkers need to get a few last things and need a place to stay so we don't spend too much of our travel money. Could we possibly…stay at your house for a week?" I asked.

"Of course baby," mom said as she pulled back. "There isn't much room though but I'm sure we can all squeeze in! Come on we'll go home right now and get you all settled for the week. I'm not getting much work around here today anyway…" Mom said as she dragged me off.

"Thanks mom."

"No problem honey, now hurry up I'm not strong enough to drag you all the way there."

I smiled a bit and started to walk in stride with my mother, though she had the advantage with those heels of hers. We arrived at a slightly rundown building and mom quickly opened the main door for us. We then climbed up some stairs and to her apartment. It was just like I remembered it. We had moved into this building after dad had started to send mom welfare checks. Mom may be a hooker but she was a money wise hooker. She saved every penny she got and only bought the important things, except on birthdays. Over the years we stayed there we worked together and fixed up the place. Mom unlocked the door and opened it. The apartment seemed to be the same with just a few changes. There was a new couch in the living room and a new floor rug. There were also plenty of pictures of me and her hanging on the walk that was once blank.

"Looks like you made a few changes while I was gone."

"Only a few, your room is still pretty much the same." Mom said as she slipped off her shoes and walked into the small kitchen area. "Feel free to take of your coats and relax."

I removed my shoes quickly and followed her into the kitchen, leaving the other guys to do what they liked. Mom was putting together some drinks and snacks while humming a random tune, I guess she was happy to have me visiting.

"So how have you been mom?"

"Pretty good, I actually have a nice job at one of the clubs but sometimes it doesn't make ends meet so I put on my old uniform and walk the streets."

"Oh I see, I ran into Hitoshi-san on my way into town, she said hi."

"Oh really? That's nice sweetie! I haven't seen her around for awhile. She's been working around this new bathhouse and inn that's been taking over the hotel market around here."

"Ah, alright then. Do you need any help?"

"No, you just go sit with your friends and I'll bring out the drinks and such."

I stared at her a bit more and turned to the living room, knowing better than to ignore her request. When I got back to the guys they all seemed to make themselves comfortable. Hidan was still in his cloak, his hat now gone, holding something in his hands and muttering words under his breath. Kisame was out of his cloak and lounging on the other end of the couch, picking at his fingernails to pass the time. Itachi was standing near the window, also out of his cloak, seemingly watching the people in the street below. Kakuzu was out of his cloak and quite the sight to see. Any visible part of his skin, save for his eyes, had these strange stitches, his skin was also a tan, not as dark as my mother's and mine but pretty tan. He had on this weird head gear so I couldn't tell what his hair color was. Mom came in and walked around me and set the food and drink down on the small table.

"Here, eat up. I wish I could be a better hostess but I need to get back to the streets before I have to go to work." She said with a calm smile, as if she wasn't talking to a group of freaky looking men, well have freaky looking.

She looked at Itachi for a moment before as if in thought before smiling in realization.

"Well I'll be damned, if it isn't mister pretty boy. Come back to accept my offer I see."

"Not exactly miss." Itachi said with a smile. It was a very nice smile but it kind of freaked me out.

"I guess our meeting was a gift from fate to show me who shall be watching my daughter then!" Mom joked as she laughed and proceeded to pull something out of her cleavage.

"Here honey," She said turning to me. "Take your friends and go to the old bath house, it's cheap, and less crowded now that the new one if open. You can use some of the towels in the closet and anything else you need to borrow from me."

She placed a wad of cash into my hand along with a spare key to the apartment before head towards the door.

"Make sure you lock up before you leave and while you're at it honey, go get some stuff for dinner after you bath okay? The fridge is getting kind of empty and I don't have enough food to feed you all. I'll be back later tonight so make sure you leave me some too. I love you, be good, use protection and all that stuff!" She said before she walked out the door.

There was a moment of silence before anyone spoke.

"Your mother is very….accepting." Kisame said

"Or fucking oblivious." Hidan added.

I couldn't help but snort at Hidan's comment.

"She's slept with weirder things than you guys, thrust me on that one, I lived with her most of my life."

"Anyway, let's take your mother up on the bathhouse offer; we could all use a good cleaning." Itachi said calmly before walking over to me.

"As long as I'm not spending money I could care less." Kakuzu said.

"Whatever." Kisame and Hidan answered in unison.

I shrugged my shoulders and quickly went to grab some towels for us and my mother's wash bucket. I then went back to the others who had all their stuff and gave them their towels. I grabbed my things before opening the door and letting them all exit after me before turning to lock the door. I lead the way once again, this time to the bath house, and the other's followed without too much question.

The bathhouse had seen better days but was still standing just fine. It's owner, an old woman who had a million grand children because she herself used to be a prostitute. I smiled at her and set the money down.

"We would like to use the baths please."

She stared at me for a second before looking behind me at the guys questioningly. She then took the money and gave me my change before pointing to a door on either side of her.

"Women to your right, Men to your left."

I quickly and wordlessly ducked into the women's bath, leaving the men to fend for themselves. The changing room was completely empty of anything that showed they had any customers. When mom said they weren't busy she meant it. I walked over to an empty cubby hole and started to undress. It felt good to get out of the dirty clothes and into a bath. I finished stripping, grabbed my things and walked into the washing area. It was quiet and eerie but the wonderful smell of perfumed water and soothing steam made me ignore that bad parts. I walked in and took a seat hear one of the removable shower heads. I filled my bucket with water and proceeded to wash my hair and every inch of my body. It was a soothing feeling, like washing all my emotions and guilt away. But deep inside I knew it would not be so easy as to slip into a bath. What I had done…It was unforgiveable, even if it was a request from the deceased.

I stared down at the water silently for a moment in guilt. Yurushi was a great person, even if he was never good with expressing his emotions. I always enjoyed his company and the intelligent conversations we had with each other outside of work. I couldn't help but wonder why he wanted me to kill him, someone so weak and unthreatening. Certainly death at the hands of one of the other men would have be more honorable, more heroic than ending by my hand…I took in a shaky breath as I started to cry silently.

"I'm such a horrible person…I can't believe I killed my brother."

"Neither can I."

I froze and turned quickly to see none other than Kisame…and he was very _very_ naked. My mind went completely blank as he walked over to me and took a seat right next to me. I couldn't bring myself to say anything to him, or to even scream at him, the whole fact there was a naked man in front of me had my brain going completely dead. I could feel myself blushing but I made no move to cover up, hell I don't even think I was breathing. He was smiling from ear to ear but the look in his eyes made it seem evil. It was a look I wasn't used to getting, or looking directly into.

"It's even better than I thought it would be." He commented darkly as he leaned closer to me, the only thing keeping him decent was the heavy steam in the air. It was a good thing he spoke too because it made my mind click into hyper drive.

I bolted away from him as fast as humanly possible, forcing myself into a corner near one of the tubes, and started to stutter like a mad man.

"W-w-w-w-what the hell! You c-c-can't be-be-be-be in here!" I said in a harsh whisper, if the owner found out that he was breaking the rules all of us could get kicked out!

"That's what makes it kinky, no?" He replied as he crawled over to me, in a very seductive way- wait! No, bad mind! This was a crazy killer in front of you, a crazy killer trying to _rape_ you! It was no time to think about how nice and smooth his hips moved!...crap!

He wasn't even that hot! I mean, sure he was very well toned and twice, more than likely three times, my size, but he was also blue, possibly part fish or shark, a criminal wanted my god knows how many ninja villages, and also one of the men responsible that I was even in this situation in the first place! I blame my reaction on my lack of sexual stimulation as an early teen, damn you mom for being over protective! I felt something grab my ankle and before I could even begin to protest I was pulled under neither him. I froze like a deer facing death and stared into the intimidating eyes on my unwanted bath companion. I instinctively covered my chest with my hands and curled up on myself to cover as much as possible. I did not want this, I did not want _him_. Wasn't it bad enough for me to be eaten away by the guilt for slitting my brother's throat? Did fate really have to have me raped too? I could feel his staring at me, his gaze clawing into me like a pick axe. He did not say a word and for a minute I though he left me alone but a soft touch on my shoulder told me otherwise.

His arm was swift and I had no way of stopping him from breaking up my tangled limbs as he pried at every weak bend or sweaty finger. Before I knew it both my arms were pinned above my head with one of his hands. I closed my eyes tightly and looked away from him but he would not have that. He took his free hand the grabbed my jaw line, not hard but strong enough to make me nothing more than a puppet in his hands. I refused to open my eyes though, he may have gotten my hands and face but he would not have my gaze damnit! I could feel his breath on my face when he moved closer, it was hot and smelled heavily of boiling salt water and fish, a perfect smell for him and his weird fishiness. He did not move after that, made no move to touch me or do anything at all, just held me captive and waited…Was he waiting for me to look? Well I wasn't going to! If he wanted me to look he was going to have to pry my eyelids open!

I could feel the steam from the water on my face and just laying on the cold tiled floor was making certain parts react that I couldn't cover up. I felt ashamed that someone was doing this to me and angry that I couldn't do anything about it. I squirmed in his hold as my body started to try and heat itself up naturally. I could feel my hairs start to stand on end from the cold tiles and I almost was tempted to make aim for his privates with my knee, but that required being able to see and I'd rather not see what was down there anyway. The possibilities scared me more than the actual fact that he was pinning me down. I heard him chuckle suddenly and as he spoke I could feel his breath trail down my neck and stop right between my breasts.

"Your face is rather priceless, full of fear and defiance at the same time. The best part is that your eyes aren't even open and I can still tell what you are feeling. You're just like a book."

I wanted to yell at him but I could only bring myself to whisper harshly back at him.

"Get off me."

"Oh, so now we show a bit of an attitude? I'm afraid that it's a bit too late for that. Also there's no need to whisper, I just a silence jutsu on this room long before I came in so you can be as loud as you like." Kisame said, ending on what seemed to be a sweet note, though it was anything but sweet for me.

I was stuck, if we were caught we'd all get kicked out and even if I did have the courage to yell for help no one would hear me anyway. A lump caught in my throat as I realized there was no way out of this predicament and I had no one to run to anymore since the one that usually helped me was the one holding me down. Suddenly the hand holding my head let go and I quickly turned away again. I heard Kisame murmur something under his breath and I suddenly heard water swishing together. Suddenly Kisame's one hand on my wrists was replaced with two new ones. Then another set of hands rested on my breasts which took me a little by surprise, to the point of making me open my eyes and looking up. And there was Kisame, my head in between his kneecaps. I didn't dare to try and look up any further knowing what awaited me but then I looked down, and there was Kisame…again.

I think my mouth was wide open in shock as I looked between the two Kisame's. The one holding my hands was just smiling some wicked grin at my shock while the other was more occupied with what was in his hands, my boobs.

"Nice and smooth, not too big either, nice to cup." He said giving one a quick squeeze.

A strange bolt of something jolted though me before landing in my groin. I didn't really expect it so I gasped lightly before staring wide eyed at the Kisame in front of me. He only just chuckled before he let his hands trace circles around my nipples. They were already stiff from the cold floor but what he was doing now was torturing me. Half of me wanted him to stop and leave me alone, but a small voice egged him on, told me to make him do it more. It was weird to hear me argue with myself like this, I was always able to make a choice and be done with it.

Another squeeze of him breasts sent a jolt down to my groin and made me toss my head back in shock. I wasn't used to these feelings at all and it was so hard trying to fight them. Suddenly something hot and wet started to run down my exposed neck and it took me a bit to realize it was his tongue. I closed my eyes and started to shrink away from his touches, I needed to stay focused and resist. I know well enough that if my body gave in enough to the feelings then I would soon follow suit. He chuckled again as if he wasn't trying to rape me and instead was just playing some game.

"So uncertain, you want to resist but something has you being unsure…You must be a virgin, just another bonus I suppose." He dipped his face into the crook of my neck, which I had tried to hide by bending my head down, and just using his jaw wedged his way through to get to my more sensitive spots.

He must have done this before with other women, he knew what they tried to do to keep him from his goal and how to counter it proper, just as if it was a battle and not a simple act of intercourse, though this was definitely not proper intercourse! Both parties should enjoy it, not just one! And I was not enjoying it…or at least I think I wasn't…stupid hormones…He started to nip at my neck and that made it hard to focus. The sensations were alluring and made me feel overcome by such a warm feeling. It felt so much better than the guilt, so much better than the sadness. I bit my lip to try and fight off the good feelings, I didn't want to give in to him at all.

"You know, it's said that you're not putting any use into that silence jutsu I put up. Come on, say something, yell and scream for help, I don't care what you say about me."

I didn't respond to him, talking would only give him satisfaction. I'd rather die in silence than let him hear what he was doing to me, the confusing feeling bubbling in my chest as his hands went about their business happily, the bites he left on my neck still tingling from the feeling of his sharp teeth. In truth, if I opened my mouth I was certain a moan would have come out. He gave another squeeze to my breasts and I let out a startled gasp as the jolt of feeling traveled to my groin again, making something tighten that I didn't know was there. Suddenly a voice of an Angle his my ears…

"HEY KISAME! HURRY UP YOU SLOW FUCK WE'RE ALL DONE BATHING AND THE BITCH IS THE ONLY ONE WITH A KEY TO THE FUCKING APARTMENT!"

Okay, so maybe it was no angle but it got Kisame to stop and that's all that mattered. He paused his menstruations on my chest and growled angrily.

"I'm going to kill that zombie mood killer." He murmured under his breath.

Mood? WHAT FUCKING MOOD!? I didn't have time to retort because he turned back to me and with one swift motion bit my neck. Yup he _bit_ my neck. He sucked violently on a rather sensitive spot making me moan unintentionally. Kisame then quickly pulled back and observed his handy work before letting go of my boobs.

"I guess we'll continue this another day…Seiyuuki."

He then poofed away and the Kisame holding my hands fell apart into a mass of water that landed on my face. I coughed at the sudden wave hit me and glared at the spot where the real Kisame had once been. I sat there for a minute before quickly going back to my things and finishing up. I than ran out to the changing room and put on my clean clothing, pretty much the same as before just with the shirt a dark shade of green. I slipped on my shoes and hopped to the exit and joined the others who were waiting. I was probably ten shades of red and I looked up at the others waiting. They didn't seem to care that their partner had just attempt to take me against my will or that we were even with two feet of each other.

"Let's go, I'm hungry." I heard Kisame say to the guys as he walked out of the bath, now fully clothed.

I couldn't bring myself to look him in the face so I just quickly started to walk back to the apartment.

"I'll go shopping after I drop my stuff off at the apartment."

There was some sort of mumbled response behind me since I was leading the way back. I assumed that meant that they agreed to what I said. In truth though I was using it as an excuse to not look Kisame in the face, how could I when he just did that to me!? I felt so abused but my body said otherwise. The feeling in my groin still remained and my nipples were more or less trying to penetrate through my shirt, lucky since my hands were full I could easily hide that. My body wanted more naturally and I just felt so wrong for feeling that way. I hated that stupid Kisame for knowing his way around the female anatomy, I hated my stupid mom for hiding me away from a proper sexual education because she didn't want me to turn out like her, and I hated my stupid _stupid_ hormones…


	6. The Breakdown

(A/N: I am very sorry for such a large gap in my writing, I know many of you want to read the next chapter, a lot of you actually telling me, and I feel bad for keeping you all waiting. I just had some personal issues that kept me busy and every time I tried to write I just didn't like what was coming out. However I have solved my horrid case of writers block and now bring you this new chapter, I'll try to be consistent from now on. Now please enjoy this chapter!)

The past few days have been…tense, for lack of a better word. I was never one to handle awkward situations well, especially with the opposite sex, so after what happened at the bath house I couldn't look any of them in the face. I mean, if Kisame could do that to me who's to say that the others won't try? Okay so I'm a little paranoid, but can you blame me? I was almost raped in the bath house that I went to as a child! On top of that, by someone who I think might possibly be genetically related to fish!

Anyway, it doesn't even matter. Hidan, Itachi, and Kakuzu were all gone most of the time doing whatever they had to do. At first glance you'd think that was great but if you were paying attention I only said three names and there are_ four_ men that I am scared shitless by. If you haven't figured it out by now, Kisame was dubbed the official babysitter meaning I was alone with him all the time. Mom was barely around long enough to make a significant difference. However, because of her lack of being there and the sudden abundance of men, that left me with a lot of cleaning to do so I was able to keep Kisame at a distance by telling him I was cleaning or cooking dinner. That kept him at bay long enough until the others got home and he was usually distracted by Hidan the rest of the evening, though lately I've been running out of things to do to keep him away, I've gotten to the point where I'll actually rewash the dishes from lunch three times, claiming there was still stuff on them. I think he's catching on to what I am doing though. He's been keeping the bathroom as clean as possible and also been making all the guys beds. He's trying to get me alone with nothing to do, I just know it!...Okay, there's the paranoia again. Mom's been defending him, saying he's just doing it to get on my good side so I'd go out with him. Oh if she only knew what I knew, I'm sure she would understand why I sleep with her and lock the door at night.

I opened the door to the apartment complex and started to take the stairs, my arms full with groceries. I had snuck out of the apartment after lunch while Kisame was sleeping off his meal; he seems to get sleepy whenever he eats tuna. Anyway, I took the opportunity to go get fixings for dinner and stock up on other things that the house needed, like cleaning products because I used up all the other ones from my attempt to avoid the big blue menace. I was half way up the last stair case to my floor when I heard the voice of Satan from right behind me!

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!"

Okay so it wasn't Satan exactly but Kisame sounded angry enough to be the real Satan. I quickly turned to look at him, about to spurt out a quick explanation so he'd calm down enough so that none of the other residents would come to see what was happening. However, twirling around on one foot as quickly as I did was not the smartest thing to do, especially when your arms are full of heavy items that throw off your balance. I started to slip and quickly closed my eyes to wait for the painful impact. Instead of the sharp corners of the stairs I was greeted with a bulky wall before falling a bit more and finally stopping. I heard the bags of food spill, fruits splattering into a mess on the floor and cans rolling down the stairs and denting. It got quiet suddenly, the only sound being the cans of food rolling to a stop.

"You stupid bitch…gah, my head..."

I opened my eyes quickly and looked up to see Kisame holding me. The food was all over the stairs and I was lying on top of him. I could feel my eyes widening in fear as I realized that he was touching me. I quickly jumped up and away from him. My skin was crawling, I felt really gross suddenly. I knew I looked discussed, I felt my lips curling back in a grimace and my teeth grind against each other. Kisame looked up at me, sitting up and holding his head.

"I swear you are fucking crazy, do you have any common sense! And what's with that look?"

I couldn't talk, my throat went dry awhile ago. All I knew is that I wanted a shower, a dip in some sterilizing chemical, anything to get the feel of him off me. I turned and ran towards the stairs to the apartment. I could hide away in the bathroom and stick my head under the sink at least. Just as I was making a move to step up I felt something grab my ankle. I looked back to see Kisame glaring at me from on the floor.

"You're not going an-"

I didn't hear the rest of what he said because then my head connected with one of the step edges. It was an instant knockout. I don't know how long I was out but it was peaceful not seeing Kisame anymore. I think my fear of Kisame has gotten even worse…this can't be good. This fear is logically based though; any girl would feel gross when touched by a man that once tried to rape them…I think.

I started to wake up, much to my dismay. My head gave a nasty throb as I tried to sit up. I opened my eyes to find myself on the couch with a bag of ice on my forehead. I glanced around for a moment to see if Kisame was around, it didn't seem like he was. I let out a sigh of relief as I lay back down and closed my eyes again, happy to know I was left alone.

"Nice to see you awake girl that hit to your head was rather nasty."

Or maybe not…

I looked over toward the voice to see Kisame standing in the door way, the food I bought in his arms. He seemed angry but relatively calm at the moment. I guess my little stunt didn't make him all that happy. He walked into the kitchen with the food before coming back over to me and sitting on the other end of the couch. I quickly tucked in my legs so that I was as far from him as possible. His scowl deepened as he looked at me…I think I hurt his feels doing that…

"Look I know you've been avoiding me but it's not gonna help you when we're back on the road. Now just stop doing this crazy shit and behave or I'll cut off your legs so you can't keep pulling this crap." He said in an angry tone, his face rather scary.

I could only nod my head in fear, not able to say anything against his request. He really was frightening when he wanted to be. However, even after all that and his threat I just couldn't stay near him. My stomach was churning and my skin was crawling like it had the plague. I got up quickly and turned toward the kitchen.

"I'll go make dinner." I say…before swaying dangerously on my feet.

I think I got up to fast, all the blood was rushing to my head and I felt sick suddenly. I could feel Kisame wrap his arms around me and set me back down on the couch.

"No, you won't. Last thing you need to be doing is waving around a knife like this. You'll sit down and rest." Kisame said demandingly, his arms pushing me back.

I quickly moved to get out of his touch and got back up, this time having better footing.

"I'm fine, really. Beside, no one else knows where to stuff for cooking is."

"No, you are not and it doesn't matter, we can miss a meal, now lay down damn it!" He growled as he grabbed my arm roughly.

I felt the panic rise in my chest and I quickly tried to pull away from his grasp.

"Let me go!"

"Not until you relax and sit down!"

"I said…LET GO!" I nearly screamed as my armed moved on its own.

Time seemed to go twice as fast after that and I didn't realize what I had done until I felt the back of my hand stinging and his hand let go.

I just slapped a giant blue man across the face…wow.

We could only stare at each other after that, both of us in complete shock. One hand was on his face, holding the now forming mark. The other was at his side, hanging there lazily. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. I felt a rush of anger and frustration all at once, as if the wall that I built up to keep it all inside was destroyed.

"You…stupid BASTARD!" I yelled suddenly, the clam attitude that I made crumbling before my very eyes.

"YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHEN A WOMAN WANTS TO BE LEFT THE FUCK ALONE? GOD DAMN!"

My anger and hate started to pour out in waves as I felt tears pour down my face, I really was losing control of myself.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!...It's all your fault! I was happy and fine with my simple life and job, sitting in the shadows of my parents and coworkers and being a secret! I was fine with being alone and teased by my brothers until I died. I was fine with that…BUT YOU! YOU JUST HAD TO COME AND FUCK IT UP! YOU HAD TO COME OUT OF NOWHERE AND TAKE ME AWAY FROM MY HOME, PUT ME IN SKANKY CLOTHING AND FORCE ME TO WALK FOR MILES ON END! IT DOESN'T EVEN STOP THERE!...you stupid ass hole…Then you get me hunted down by the very people I was once helping because you are just that much of a bastard! And to top of it all I have to kill the only fucking brother that I LIKED! YOU HEAR ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT! THE ONLY ONE I LIKED! THEN…Then the very next FUCKING day, you come into my home town and act all polite in front of my mother BEFORE TRYING TO RAPE ME IN A BATH HOUSE! DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKED UP THAT IS! YOU ARE PROBABLY THE MOST SICK MOTHER FUCKER I HAVE EVER MET, AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING BECAUSE MY DAD REGULARLY CHEATS ON HIS WIFE WITH PROSTITUES OF BOTH GENDERS…AT THE SAME TIME! EVEN THAT DOESN'T COMPARE TO SOME OF THE SHIT YOU PULLED. I HOPE YOU SPEND THE REST OF YOUR DAYS ALONE AND SEXLESS AND WHEN YOU DIE, YOU CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN OR HELL, YOUR SOUL WILL JUST ROT IN THIS DEMENSION AND WATCH EVERYONE ELSE ENJOY HAVING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS WITH THERE LOVED ONES. YOU STUPID, UGLY, CREEPY, MESSED UP SON OF A CRACK MONKEY WHO FUCKED A SHARK WHILE HIGH FROM THE PAIN KILLERS SHE TOOK TO KILL HERSELF!"

I panted loudly for air after I finished my rant, a feeling a relief coming over me as I wiped the tears from my face and stood up straight. The room was completely silent except for any noise I was making. I took in another deep breath and looked Kisame in the eye. His face seemed slightly pale and even more shocked than before. His body was rigged as I took another breath and started to head toward the kitchen.

"I'll go make dinner."

I entered the kitchen and went on autopilot as I started to prepare a meal for everyone. I as I cooked my nerves started to shake as my minded finally clicked together after what I had just done. I didn't let them get to me though, if it got me killed then fine, I'd rather be dead at this point! I heard the door open and close and the sound of three people walk in. There was murmured conversation after that and then silence.

The silence was strangely peaceful, almost disturbingly so. It made me want to curl up in the corner and sleep, it was that nice not to hear anything. In the back of my head though I knew they were talking about me. I should have not been allowed that kind of outburst; I was still technically a prisoner. I shook the thought out of my head and went about collecting what I needed for dinner. The mumbles from the other room made it hard to think straight, but not as bad as the guilt that filled my chest for what I said to the big blue lug. What I said was all truth in my opinion; I was not going to take it back. But the look on Kisame's face…oh that look was painful. For a moment, one small moment, he looked completely….

Destroyed….

His face was burned into my mind, the weak stare and glassy eyes burned into my brain. I would not let my guilt win! I was stronger than that…and so was he. He's shake it off in a few days, maybe even a few hours. He was a man, he'd forget about it before dinner was even ready…

At least I hope he did...

I stopped what I was doing and glared at the ground. That sounded so lovely dovey just now. I was not in love with that man! He wasn't even my type…not that I know what my type is anyway…I sighed and went back to cooking, minding my own business when a hand suddenly touched my shoulder.

"Honey, you look like you're upset….what's wrong?" My mom said softly as she leaned against the counter next to me.

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of her voice, she took me by surprise. I dropped a dish I was working with and it rattled loudly on the ground, not breaking thankfully. I could see some people peak in out of the corner of my eye but as soon as they were there they were gone. I picked up the plate and set it down before going to get a new one.

"Nothing's wrong…"

I continued to go about my cooking, feeling her gaze follow me throughout the room. The noise I made helped me keep my mind busy but her stare was very hard to ignore. It burned into my back as I cooked the food quietly, the sound of sizzling filling the room. I started to weaken as she walked over to me and leaned on the counter, arms crossed. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye and my emotions started to crumble like a sandcastle in high tide. I turned to her with tears in my eyes and cuddled up to her as she wrapped her arms around me. It felt so good to just sob everything out, I had gotten rid of all my anger on Kisame and now I was dropping all of my sadness on my mom.

"I hate this mom…I hate this so much…"

"Its okay honey, whatever it is, it will get better…"

Oh how I wished her words were true. I continued to sob against her, the food crackling and popping in the pan. I pulled away from her and smiled a bit. I felt a little better but my situation still wasn't any different and we were due to leave town soon. My mom smiled at me and patted my head gently.

"There, there, feel better now?"

"Sort of…" I said my voice cracking slightly as I looked back to dinner.

"Well, now that you got that out of you, I'll go collect the bo-" She didn't finish her sentence as a loud banging came to the door.

"HEY BITCH, OPEN UP! KATSUNO IS TIRED OF YOUR SHIT AND IS BUMPING YOU OFF HIS EMPLOYEE LIST! AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! ALSO…I HAVE SOME FRIENDS WITH ME, THEIR HERE FOR THOSE MISSING NIN YOU'RE HIDING AWAY! NOW OPEN UP OR WE'LL INVITE OURSELVES IN!"

My face went pale as I glanced at my mother; her face was as pale as mine. We both ran into the next room and saw Hidan crouched at the door ready to pounce, Kakuzu was throwing on his cloak and ran into the back, Itachi and Kisame were nowhere to been seen. Mom seemed to be on auto drive as she bolted for her bed room. I just stood there in shock.

"Hey bitch, don't just stand there! Get fucking packed because we are bolting out of here once we get past these unholy pricks!" Hidan barked at me in a harsh whisper as he looked away from the door for only a second, ready to pounce if they made a move to get through.

"Where are the others?" I whispered back, almost as harshly.

"Kakuzu is packing up our kill and Itac-"

"You brought a dead body into the apartment!" I almost screamed at him, barely able to keep it at a whisper.

"No you stupid fuck we hid it in a scroll! Now fucking listen! Itachi and Kisame are packing up their shit. Now go get ready cause we are bolting _now_!" He growled out as I saw Kakuzu return, hat and all, joining Hidan by the door.

I ran to my mom's room, finding her packing a small sack with clothes and personal items. I entered and got to my own packing, not taking too long as I kept most of my stuff in my bag. I tossed my bag over my shoulder and looked to my mom, who had stopped her rushed packing and was staring at a picture. I walked over to her and her face looked kind of…blank…like her life wasn't on the line right at the moment.

"…Mom? Did something happen while I was gone?"

She looked to me and smiled a bit, before looking back to the picture.

"After you moved to the village…with your brothers…I got involved with some rather…bad company. Long story short, I didn't let my boss sleep with me so now he's gonna kill me…but what's your story missy? Missing nin! If we get out of this alive we are going to have a long talk." She said, scolding me as if we had time to chat like this.

I stared at her silently and almost started to speak until I was interrupted.

"Seiyuuki, we need to go." It was Kisame; his voice was very cool and stiff, like he was having trouble talking.

I turned to him but didn't look at his face. I just couldn't remove the sad look from before out of my head. I nodded my head a bit before looking away. I glanced at my mom for a second before I took a deep breath and looked him in the eye.

"Look…can we take my mom please? We sort of made her situation worse by staying here…could we at least get her out safely?"

The air seemed to become still as my question hung there. His face did not soften at all; He turned away and started to head down the hall. I pouted a bit as I looked to my mom; she smiled at me softly for a moment.

"It's okay honey, I'll be fi-"

"Hurry up you slow women, if either of you want to survive you get in here now." Kisame called from the other room, his voice still harsh but strangely gentle.

My mom and I looked to each other before we grabbed out stuff and joined the men. Hidan and Kakuzu were getting ready to pounce on the door as I heard thuds on the other side. Itachi was adjusting his hat and looked over at us. Kisame mumbled something to him and Itachi just gave a quick nod.

"We'll be moving out, Hidan and Kakuzu will take out the ANBU and the unknown male who lead them here. There are only five ANBU, six including the unknown man. There is no other ANBU close enough to cause us much trouble but just to be safe keep your weapons out. We'll be moving nonstop until we reach the safe point outside of the country, Hidan and Kakuzu will join us later. We'll park there for a few days until the heat dies down and then go along with the plan. Kisame, you'll carry the girl's mother, I'll carry the girl."

I blinked in surprise and Kisame nodded and moved toward my mom. He picked her up and I felt kind of strange suddenly, as if something was wrong with the picture. Itachi tapped my shoulder and I looked to him quietly before I let him pick me up. He was also pretty strong, but he felt small compared to the large form of Kisame. Kisame and Itachi walked toward the window as Hidan and Kakuzu got ready to open the door. I couldn't tell what was happening until we were jumping in the air hopping across the buildings. There was a large explosion behind us as I saw my mom's apartment suddenly sport a giant hole in the wall, one of the ANBU hanging from it with his stomach falling out of him. I heaved some air, almost spitting up some of my stomach acid. I looked at Itachi for a moment, watching him focus on the path.

"Will they be okay alone?" I ask.

Itachi just gave me a look out of the corner of his eye, like he couldn't believe I asked that. I looked away and closed my eyes, knowing there wasn't much else I could do at this point. The air was moving fast past me and I could hear the screams of awe and surprise from the innocent civilians below but two voices were louder than the screaming and panicked cries.

My mother and Kisame seemed to be talking….calmly. I couldn't make out what they were saying at all, the screaming from below and explosions off in the distance only allowing me to here the muffled tones of their voices. My heart tightened a bit, suddenly nervous. What if they were talking about me? Was my mom trying to figure out why I was upset through Kisame? Maybe he was smooth talking her into letting him get closer to me….

I closed my eyes tighter and blocked out the sound of them speaking, letting the rushing wind and sound of a forest over power them. It seemed we were out of town now, in the clear for only a small moment I suppose. I hope this peace would last us awhile; I didn't want my mom to see any kind of fight.

Itachi shifted his arms around me in mid air, making me feel weightless for a moment. I almost glared at him, but his stare felt like it was digging into my soul and I could only muster a look of fearful questioning. He looked back to where he was running and started to speak.

"When I met your mother for the first time, when we were on our way to finding you…I was look for a man who happened to have his hands deep in you mothers kind of work…and he was on our list. I approached her to ask for information but she assumed I was planning to be a customer and shooed me away…I explained to her what I was really looking for and she only scoffed at me before going on about her daughter…saying how her child worked more hours in a day than she did in a week, just so she'd be noticed for what she could do…She said that she wished she could have given her a better life, so that she could be living, not working…She said I should also be living too…I almost wish I could take her advice…"

"So? That has nothing to do with me." I say softly, his story coming off a bit pointless in my opinion.

"It does…It means I think you need to relax. You're stuck with us whether you like it or not…you might as well as try to enjoy it while you can…"

I think my jaw just dislocated it fell open so fast…did he just tell me to _enjoy_ being around a bunch of killers? And one of them who also tried to rape me! He seemed to glare at me for a second before going back to his emotionless expression.

"I'm being serious…"

At that point I just lost it…

I started to laugh…

It wasn't stifled or in any way hidden. It was loud and piercing as I tossed my head back and completely let go. I couldn't believe what he was saying! He wanted me…a captive or theirs…to try and be friendly with them. Who in their right mind would do that! I continued to laugh until Itachi moved his arm so he could cover my mouth with his hand. This time he really was glaring and I quickly shut up.

"Look…Just don't freak out like you did back in the apartment."

I paled as I stared at him, I wanted to say something but his hand was still over my mouth.

"Kisame isn't the type to let words get to him usually but you crossed some lines there…"

I glared at him quietly. He had no right to say that!

"I'm not turning a blind eye to Kisame's actions either. He knows what he did crossed the line, he's just to prideful to admit his mistake….and with his lack of women he usually gets a little pushy whenever he sees a chance to getting anything…"

Itachi looked at me for a second before pulling his hand away finally and adjusting me once again in his arms.

"Okay…what is your point?" I ask blankly.

Itachi was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"Just…do everyone a favor and shut him up. He's either grumbling to himself because he's not getting what he wants or trying to pick a fight with me…I have more important things to do than fight about my sex life with a horny fish man…"

For a moment I could only stare blankly at him. I had nothing to say to that at all. It was as if I had lost all fighting ability. Itachi was asking me to sleep with his partner just to shut him up, and after such a nice speech too…Before I could say anything to him we stopped moving and we were now in a patch of very thick trees. Itachi set me down as Kisame set down my mother. I noticed she gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder before she looked to Itachi.

"We'll being going the rest of the way on foot, it's too dangerous to be up in the trees now. We could trigger a trap."

"Trap? No one should be at the safe point right now." Kisame said plainly as he summoned his sword to his back, having have left it off so he could move faster.

"I checked out the area a few days ago and found that Deidara and Sasori at the safe point, they spending a few days there waiting for more mission information. They are probably still there." Itachi said as she started to walk in a certain direction. I followed him quickly, hearing Kisame's aggravated sigh and dislike for the situation.

"First the undead duo and now the crazy artists…Kami might as well just strike me down now."

I hoped that they weren't as bad as Kisame made them sound. I mean, Hidan and Kakuzu weren't all bad. They were as creepy as hell but they weren't bad…All I know right now is I better take Itachi's advice and relax; all this stressing was doing my head no good. Maybe this Deidara and Sasori would be a little less creepy and much nicer to talk to. I also hope my mother will be okay, she can handle herself pretty well but she was no ninja…She was at more of a risk then I was, I had a purpose with these men, she didn't. I don't even know why they let her come along. Maybe they were trying to keep me from getting all depressed again. I had to keep her alive, or at least get her to safety. I looked over my shoulder and watched her walking, looking around the forest curiously. I looked past her and at Kisame; we locked eyes for a second before I looked away.

I knew what I had to do now, to keep my mother safe, much to my dislike. I didn't see any other choice…

And Itachi did ask nicely…

Oh Kami, I think I'm going to regret this…


	7. A Pause In The Story

Hello readers! You are all probably thinking you want to kill me, yes? After making you wait almost two full years only to get one of these crappy author's notes. For that, I am terribly sorry that I have made you wait, but life reared its ugly head and I had to make a choice…and parents make you chose RL apparently!

Anyway, long story short, I have moved to a different state, finished high school, gotten a job and also started college. I've been busy while not writing, honest! However, after all of this time, I suppose I should stop lazing around and get off my ass for all of my readers sake.

Enough of my ramblings, I plan on working on a new installment to this lovely piece of work as soon as I get this message up, meaning that the moment you see this, is the moment I am working! I am so glad that so many people want me to continue even though I have left this for dead for so long. I just hope that picking it up after again won't leave you guys disappointed in my writing style for that has also changed, how much though I am not sure.

Anyway, thanks for sticking around and I appreciate the support! I will try to post chapters on a regular basis when I am not working this summer and will hopefully be able to keep it up during the school year as well. Your reviews mean a lot and I hope that I will keep giving you the story that you want to read!

Sincerely, LadyHarpy


	8. The Safe Point

(A/N: Hello once again! Yes, here it is, chapter 7. For those who have waited, thank you for your patience. For those who are new, I hope you enjoy it. I had such a hard time with Sasori and Deidara in this chapter, mostly because I did not know their characters all that well, and it has been a long time since I've picked up the manga. I did research though and I hope that you are not disappointed. Besides…this is fanfiction! We have a little liberty to work things out for the plot! But enough of my rambling, I'll let you all judge, tell me what you think and I hope you enjoy.)

You know that feeling you get when you experience a serious case of déjà vu and yet you know that you have never been anywhere near a person or place that has triggered the feeling? Well, I was having it. Though honestly, I have no idea why. We walked for a long time, a _really_ long time. The sounds of the screams from the city were now a distant memory and my mother, myself and the two missing nin responsible for getting us out of the city were trucking along a thin and winding trail. It was so small we had to walk single file, Itachi in front and Kisame in back, thankfully, my mother was between Kisame and I…It was probably best to let things return to a simmer before looking at him again.

Though I hate to admit it, Itachi made a point…well, part of a point.

Kusagakure was no longer a friend to mine or my mother's because of her having held missing nin willingly. If they caught us, we'd be dead, end of story. We had to make friends with the only people that seemed to want us at the moment, which were Itachi and Kisame. However, Itachi's suggestion to let Kisame have his way with me was not going to happen, not even if it guaranteed the life of my mother and me. Kisame was cruel, cruel and vicious. In his mind I was just a pretty little toy to play with until he got bored or had his fill of me. I may be a civilian and easily the weakest person in the group but damn I have a sense of pride! I did have some hope though.

The two other people we'd be meeting at this safe point that was mentioned were my hope. I had no idea what they'd be like or even if I'd be able to get along with them at all, but it was worth a shot. Besides, If Kakuzu and Hidan were any example of what these people were like then the worst that they could be were strange looking or have uncontrollable cursing and possibly able to survive a beheading…

Okay, I was definitely going insane around these people. Definitely.

"We are here." Itachi said smoothly, causing me to stop just before I could bump into his back.

My mother and I looked around for a bit, confused for as far as we could tell, we were just in the middle of a forest, the path having ended. There were extremely large trees surrounding us and there seemed to be no light at all anymore as night had finally descended upon us.

"But…Nothing is here." My mother said before I could, her voice sounding as confused as I felt. She still had no idea what these men were capable of though.

A loud snort of a laugh came from Kisame before he smiled, looking down at my innocently minded mother with his sharp tooth grin.

"And that is why we call it a safe point…It's not exactly safe if people such as civilians can see it." He said before he motioned to Itachi. "Hurry up and let us in Itachi-san, I'm tired of walking and the sooner we get in there the sooner we can leave the two nut job artists behind us as well." He grumbled at his shorter companion.

Itachi turned away from us and turned to face the largest tree though, his hands moving so quickly that I could not tell what hands signs he was using. With a swift move of his arm he slammed his palm into the trunk of the tree. There was a terribly long pause after he did that, my mother and I wondering if he had failed or made a mistake at some point, causing whatever he had planned for to fail.

That is until the ground started to descend.

The shaking of the ground caused me to fall back into my mother, she caught me against herself and held on as the two nin just moved onto the rounded piece of earth as it descended with us on it and letting the dirt swallow them into the dark pit below. As soon as everyone was deep enough, the earth closed above us, hiding that there was even a giant hole in the ground. The rest of the way down was black; I couldn't even see my hand right in front of my face. I did not feel comfortable being in the dark with Kisame of all people but with my mother clinging to me I didn't think I had to worry about the fishy man copping a feel.

Soon, light started to appear around the edges of the platform, it entering a large and well lit cavern. So large in fact that I wondered if it was naturally made or if these men had created it on their own. I looked towards the edge to see that we were getting closer to the ground; it covered in large stalagmites so that anyone or anything could easily be hidden around the entrance. Probably a safety measure that was taken to make sure that if someone unwanted entered defenders and traps could be hidden. The platform started to slow and Itachi and Kisame moved towards the edge slowly, hoping off just as there were only a few feet left. They didn't even look at my mother and I before they walked off, leaving us to look to each other before following after them.

Though the cavern was better lit than the beginning of the tunnel down, it still had plenty of shadows to hide in. Sticking close to the men, we followed them towards a more defined entrance, though it seemed very redundant. It was just a large stone arch way, but the entrance was not carved out, just a solid wall of stone and dirt. It seemed that these people, whoever they were, were fond of tricking people with their entrances or confusing them to think that they were in the wrong place. Itachi once again started to go about his hand signs quietly as Kisame stood by, his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth in a permanent looking frown or grimace.

He glanced in my direction once again and I looked away once more very quickly, leaning into my mother a little more before sighing softly. I was tired, both physically from the walking and mentally from all my thinking. I wasn't sure if I could take much more planning; especially when it seemed that every time I tried to plan an idea out in my head these men would fuck it up. Hopefully, I'd be able to meet these supposed artists soon and try to make friends or else-

"Hmm…You'd make a lovely spy puppet." Came a deep sounding voice.

My mother and I jumped in surprise, turning suddenly too see…A crouched over man. In fact, he looked to be as if he was actually walking on his hands and knees. Not exactly the most efficient way to travel. However, the black robe covered in large red clouds let on that he was more than what he appeared to be. Kisame looked over to him as well and grunted, obviously not all that happy to see the strange looking man.

"Sasori, where is Deidara? Is he inside or something?" The blue man asked as he continued to look down at the much shorter nin.

"He's catching up. We just finished our mission and are back here to wait for more orders…Yourselves?" He asked as his gaze fell back on us, seemingly just staring back lazily.

"The younger one is our mission, the older one was unfortunately involved…So we'll have to be here as well and give leader an update…This mission just keeps turning into more of a mess every second." He added, grumbling under his breath.

"Hmm…A shame; ours was quite easy…in fact, Deidara was making me wait as he tried to make the mission more interesting…just wasted my time instead. " Sasori commented, his expression not changing much at all. Then another noise caught my mother's attention and my own.

"Hey, even you have to admit, it was fun watching those men go out with a bang, un!" A taller blond commented.

For a moment, I thought I was looking at a woman, with the way the blonde had his hair done and how his eyes looked. The voice though was an obvious hint that this was no woman at all. He was also surprisingly young for what I had seen so far of these nin, he was easily my age for certain. Well, maybe the fates were turning in my favor for once…With one so close to my age, maybe we could relate on some common ground of some type. What that would be I wasn't exactly certain, but I'm sure that would be something.

Hopefully.

"Enough talk, let's get inside and get our reports into leader. The sooner that is done the sooner we can move on our separate directions." Kisame grumbled, seemingly irritated just by being around the two younger men.

It was at this point that Itachi finally spoke.

"He is right, we can converse later. Let's get inside. We have done much traveling and need rest. You two, follow me." He said, motioning to myself and my mother.

We looked to each other once more and left with Itachi, the three men behind us starting to talk again, though I am certain I heard Kisame growl under his breath. He really did not seem to like them and I had still yet to see why. Maybe it was just something he knew, as I had yet to meet them properly or speak to them. The second entrance was not nearly as impressive as the first, only a small opening appearing in the stone wall. The hall it was connected to was well lit and any sign of rough stone was gone. It was all level and straight, showing that whoever had made this place had been well prepped and ready for the challenge. It also looked like it had been made long ago, the design having an old an elegant feel.

As we worked our way down the hall, we passed many opened areas. One looked like a training room with wooden dummies and a marked out fighting area. Another seemed to be a common area with some simple seating arrangements. Along with those was a kitchen, a storage area for supplies and even a small room for taking care of wounds. This place seemed to be prepared for anything. It was terribly frightening and impressive. All this time there was a place like this, just sitting under ground in my country. I couldn't imagine who could possibly be keeping this place stocked and running for these men and for whoever they were, I have a large amount of respect for them, after all it wasn't easy to enter this place with supplies and go unnoticed by someone or something.

"Here." Itachi spoke again, taking my attention away from the halls and such and pausing in front of a closed door. "You two will be staying here. You can wander if you must…But don't try to run away, you won't be getting out without us. Understand?"

"Of course…" I replied, my mother nodding her head as well before speaking up.

"Um, quick question actually. Are there private bathrooms or-"

"Private, at least in your case. It's in your room. The rest of us have a common bathroom to use. This room is usually reserved for one of our other members but since they are not here, it is yours to use. Do not worry though, it's just a bed and a desk, you won't be around any personal items…" He answered swiftly before turning away from us.

"We don't have a common meal hour so just eat when you are hungry. It will probably be best anyway with those two around." Itachi added before heading down the hall.

My mother looked to me for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and approaching the door. I followed after her and entered as well; looking around the plain yet welcome set up. I was more tired than I originally thought, my outburst having drained my brain while our quick attempt to flee drained my body. In other words, I was beat. It seemed my mother was as well as she flopped down onto the bed with a sigh, kicking off her shoes before she lay back onto the sheets. I soon joined her, tossing my bag next to her own and kicking off my shoes. For a long while, we just laid there in silence, neither of us having the energy to speak…

"So…Missing nin huh?" My mother said slowly as she turned her head to look at me.

Or maybe I was wrong.

"Mom, I-"

"Honey, I really don't care…I just want to know why you lied to me. I'm not pointing fingers but this now makes me bad too, I could be tried at their level since I held them willingly. Why were you with them? Is it really work?"

I didn't say anything for a while; mostly because I was worried my mother might try to do something to them if I told her the truth. She was very protective of me and I couldn't have her looking at them like they were an enemy since they were also the only ones who could guarantee our survival at this point. However, she had the right to know.

"You might not like what you hear mom…You might not like me either." I warned her softly, knowing that what I was about to say could change our relationship forever.

"I know honey…I know." She said back softly to me.

With those words I vented…vented like I had never vented before. I told her of the original attack, Kisame's original intentions with me and what I understood of them. I also told her of what had happened on the journey, the fact that I had been targeted instead of saved, how Yurushi had be one of the men who was sent to kill me and also had requested that I end his life when the nin had defeated the ANBU ninjas. Somewhere in there I started to cry, going on to the part where I lied to her, but only did so as a last chance to see her again as I did not know if I would ever return alive. The air felt heavy by the time I was done and for the longest time every my mother was silent, just looking at me as I had tears running down my face, a hand moving up to wipe them away quickly. Though it still hurt to think about what had happened I knew crying would not change the past.

"I'm so sorry honey…" My mother started to say as she moved over to me, bring me in for a gentle hug. "I am so very…very sorry. If I had known this…If I had known any of this. I would have done something…Oh God, my baby…my poor baby." She said softly as she cuddled me close.

"There is nothing you could have done mom…They are missing nin, even you would have not been able to do anything. Besides, with Kusagakure more interested in killing me then saving me, the only thing that would have happened would have been my death. They need me, so as long as I am useful I will stay alive. I just pray I am useful enough to keep you alive as well." I said to her softly.

"Sometimes I wonder if it really was for the best, letting your terrible father chose your education. If you stayed with me…If you had just stayed with me you'd be safe and sound. I know you would not have had the best education but no knowledge is worth this price, not at all." She told me as she looked down at me, petting my head.

"You can't change the past mom…" I told her, though her words were definitely what I needed to hear.

"But you can control the future. Honey, I swear if it helps you stay alive I'll do anything these men want, even if I have to pull out the dirty tricks I used back when I was keeping us a float with my body alone. I mean…A former prostitute must be some use to a group of lonely men, right?"

I let out a hallow laugh and shake my head, leaning into my mother quietly. She really did know just what to say to me to get rid of the tears.

"I love you mom, I hope you know that."

"And I love you…even if you are a criminal now technically."

With another hallow laugh I close my eyes, nodding off in my mother's gentle hold as we shared the small bed together…

Hours passed before I woke up, I was certain of it. Mostly because when I did wake up I felt rejuvenated and alive, two things that had not been used to describe me ever since I was taken away. I laid there on the bed for a moment, feeling my mother's back against my arm. We must have moved in our sleep, as we were no longer cuddling. Even in that case, just being near her was comforting, to know that she would not leave me, even after all that had happened…She was truly the best parent a girl could even have, even if she had been a prostitute most of my life. I sat up slowly and stretched, moving off of the bed and looking around the room.

It was rather empty, only a bed and desk as Itachi had said. I wandered over to one door, finding the private bathroom he had also said would be there. Stepping up to the sink, I turned it on and started to wash off my face, cleaning myself up slightly since I had been unable to shower at all since we arrived. I didn't feel like taking one now though, mostly because I had something else on my mind.

Food.

I was starving, my stomach feeling hallow. I had not eaten since lunch before we were forced to run. In fact, if I slept as long as I thought I did, then it was probably time for breakfast. I stepped out of the bathroom, deciding to let my mother sleep. It would probably be better if I went out on my own anyway, no one would attack me, I was important to a mission…At least, not attack me to harm anyway. I stepped out of the room and closed the door quietly behind myself, looking down the hall curiously. I just hoped that I would not get lost on my way back, last thing I wanted to do was walk in on anyone and make them attack me by mistake.

I started down in the direction I remember coming from, not even trying to be quiet. If they knew I was coming, they probably would check before trying to attack me. It took a bit of looking, and some luck, but I was able to find the kitchen. I wandered in to find that it was empty, probably for the best as I had not been formally introduced to the two new men. I walked over to one of the cabinets and started to shuffle around, pulling out a simple looking bun. I also grabbed a glass and took some water from the sink before moving over to the table and taking a seat. The quiet was a little unnerving, but also welcome, as I had not had this kind of peace since…since the library.

It was still a surprise that only about a week before, I was living life just normally, working at the library and wanted by the officials because of my memory. Now I was being hunted for the same reason I was wanted. I could remember everything, and for Kusagakure I was a liability now, something they could afford to lose for the sake of keeping their secrets locked away…even if it meant losing them completely. The only positive in this whole situation was knowing that my mother would be alright for as long as I did as I was requested. I continued to nibble on my bread quietly for a while, my mind wandering until the sound of someone walking in caught my attention.

There standing before me was the blond from before, no longer in his robe but in some simple black ninja pants, a black undershirt that showed off his stomach and simple black ninja sandals. He seemed to have just woken up like myself, as his hair was a little messy and he seemed to be groggy, though now alert upon discovering me. In fact, I think I surprised him, because for the longest time we just stared at each other…Was he expecting me to scream? Well I wasn't, sorry, missing nin or not I could not make myself scream at a boy who pulled off a better girl then I could at times…

"You're one of the women with Itachi and Kisame, un." He stated slowly, obviously being cautious. "Are you working for them?"

I blinked a few times before slowly shaking my head. Though I was now working willingly with them I still wasn't exactly a new recruit, I was as much of a captive as I was in the beginning…just on less captive like terms and guidelines

"I'm a…well, a captive basically…Though recent events made it so that working with them was much more beneficial to my health then fighting against them." I said softly and slowly as well, testing the waters for conversation.

"Were you challenged? That was how they got me, un…" He grumbled as he started to approach, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Challenged?"

"Yeah!" He said suddenly to me, turning to look down at me. "They were sent to offer an invitation of joining their little group to me. Originally I declined; I had no interest in…this. Anyway, Itachi, the black haired one that brought you and the other woman in, challenged me. If I won I could leave and if I lost I'd have to join…So I lost…and joined, un." He said, the last part coming out in a grumble of dislike.

"Oh…So you aren't here willingly?" I asked, surprised to find someone in a slightly similar situation.

"Not completely, though it's grown on me…I don't know all the details of what this leader wants but I have to say, the missions are usually a challenge and I have given plenty of time in between for my art. Plus, the free room and board isn't bad; it's not easy keeping permanent residence when your line of work is a terrorist bomber, un."

I start to choke on the water I had started to drink, nearly spitting it out before I looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Terrorist Bomber!"

"Yeah…Aren't you a criminal?"

"Hardly…I was kidnapped originally." I said simply as I try to wipe my face from my sputtering.

"Kidnapped? Ah~ So you aren't here to join, are you, un?" He asked me.

"No…I don't even know what I'm wanted for completely. All I know is that I have something they want. What it is exactly…well I haven't been asked that yet. As far as I can tell, your leader has taken an interest in some information I know and wants to know it as well. I'm not even a ninja." I explain as I look down at my glass.

"Yeah? Then what are you, a civilian, un?"

"A librarian of Kusagakure…well a former one. I sort of have a photographic memory for information. If I have read it, been taught it or had it spoken to me I will remember it. I was used as a last resort storage place for information they wanted to keep, but didn't want to have written documents that could be taken."

Deidara looked at me for a moment, as if thinking about what I said. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't believe me, most people didn't. He sat up straighter in his chair before leaning in again, closer to me

"I find that hard to believe…but it's not every day we are actually going after a civilian and trying to keep them alive. Still…its odd that you are wanted, or were even discovered, un."

"Well, originally…Kisame was just going to use me for his…personal needs. Only when a group of nin approached them a revealed my worth in an angry fit did they discover that I was what they needed, as their original target had been destroyed before they could get it."

It was at this point that Deidara laughed, and loudly at that, leaning back in his chair as he tossed his head back. It took him a bit but he calmed down again before looking at me though a leaky eye, obvious it was so funny he almost cried.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't laugh but…that fish man just has no tact! He's just nothing but a dumb old lug, thinks that he gets things by taking them when he wants them. However, if he was just more of a man, and less of a beast, he'd be as lucky as the rest of us…I bet he hasn't even touched you yet, since you are now of mission value, un."

"I wish that were the case…" I grumble.

"Ah-…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Oh! No, no rape! Just…groping once, snuck in on me while I was bathing the bathrooms at a bathhouse." I quickly correct, as I did not want the conversation to become uncomfortable. Out of all of the men, Deidara was by far the most normal…even as a former terrorist bomber.

"Oh! Good…I may be a missing nin but even I don't agree with that…Nope, not at all, un." He said quickly, seemingly just as eager to pass that subject as I was.

I grow silent for a moment and so does he, the two of us now at an awkward point as we drop the topic that had surfaced by mistake. For a moment we just sit there, neither of us talking. I look at him once more, taking in his face and reminding myself that he really did look my age.

"How old are you?" I ask him softly; noting that we seemed to be getting along a lot better than should be possible.

"Nineteen."

"You're as old as me…How does a nineteen year old become a terrorist bomber?"

"That depends…How does a civilian become the holder of village secrets, un?" He asked me, a small smile on his face.

"Its' a long story…" I say to him before sipping on my water.

"So is mine, un."

"Well, I guess I have the time…It's not like I'm going anywhere." I say back, giving a genuine smile for the first time since the kidnapping.

He smiled back at me, letting out a small laugh as we sat there. I'm not sure how long we sat there, just talking about our lives and how they lead us onto this path. I don't know if his words were genuine or true, and at the moment, I honestly didn't care. I found company in a lonely place, a person to talk to and even relate to in some aspects. It was a light in this dim moment of my life and I prayed that it would not slip away from me as the rest of my life had…


	9. The Apology

Four weeks…It's been four weeks since the kidnapping and I find myself the happiest I have ever been. There seriously must be something wrong with my head. It must be all the rough treatment I got during the trip…Or maybe stress has caused my brain to snap, just to make functioning with these men a whole lot easier. Whatever it was I don't really care. I just hope that the happiness doesn't end…

"Un! Are you going to make a move or not?!" Deidara demanded as he glared at me across the table, poking lightly at the pieces on his side of the board.

"Deidara…It's Gomoku…not racing." I say back slowly as I continue to look over the board before smiling. "Also, I win."

Deidara blinked slowly before looking up at the board in confusion, the expression soon turning into one of surprise. Standing up, he slammed his hand on the table as he looked over my five pieces in a row, having won the game in a place he had completely left unprotected to my wise placements. He pointed in my face as I continued to smile more, his anger quite obvious.

"Cheater, Un!"

"No, not cheater, just winner is fine, thank you." I say back in a higher up tone, my mother chuckling from her place over on the couch in the main sitting area.

"Seiyuuki, be nice. You want don't want to chase away the only person here willing to play against you do you?" My mother commented before looking back down at the book she had found around there to read.

"Then again, He's hardly a challenge for someone like her." Itachi said smoothly as if he had not just insulted one of his own team members.

"Un!" Deidara called as he looked at Itachi, sending his glare in the calm nin's direction instead of mine.

Yes, this was my happiness, this peaceful living. Though, it was hardly peaceful with the fact that these men were deadly killers and wanted by every ninja village out there. That, and I was wanted as well, a criminal as much as them but not for my betrayal or for murdering anyone important. Just because of my memory I was being hunted and now my mother was as well because she had helped us out. It really just didn't make any sense to me but I had little choice in the matter. These men were keeping us alive now and I was willing to work with them if it kept me alive. Though, even in all of this new found happiness I found myself suffering from stress and worry.

"We've got orders…" Kisame spoke as he entered the room, holding up a scroll.

Speak of the devil.

I could feel myself tensing up in my chest, as if my heart was squeezing in on itself. The words I had thrown at Kisame had still not been let go by either of us, me because I feared to approach him on the subject and him because…well, they weren't exactly very nice words. Though it seemed Kisame was keeping his distance from me as I was from him, so it was possible my words did have some effect. It was nerve wracking though, as if I was standing right next to a bomb that was set but had no timer and was just ready to go off at any moment. I looked over to Itachi who had stood up from his place on the couch near my mother, his own book in one hand as he walked over to Kisame to read the letter. Deidara had started to sit and was looking at me with slight concern as he knew part of the situation, not the other bit.

"Leader wants us, all lf us, to take them to the edge of the northern peninsula between Takigakure and Otogakure, at the base there; we're going to collect Hidan and Kakuzu before heading towards Yugakure…That is all for this. It seems he's bringing us all together. Though for what reason is completely unknown. Also, it seems that your mother is approved to join us…Though it doesn't say more than that." He said, looking over at me as I give a strained smile.

"I'm glad to hear." I speak before I look to my mom who also seems to be slightly relieved.

"From what you have been saying I wasn't sure if this leader was going to approve of me being here." My mother said slowly before she looked to Itachi.

"I know little about him…so you really should not assume too much."

"Yeah, leader doesn't even show us his face, let alone tell us anything other than mission specs and light information on tasks he gives us, Un. So maybe he sees value in having a family member of Seiyuuki's family around. Like something to keep her in place."

"Thanks…" I say dejectedly, another thing to worry about added on my list. Deidara just gave a weak smile before looking back to the board and poking at one of the pieces.

"Deidara, go tell Sasori to pack up and then do so yourself. We will leave tomorrow morning at dawn. Better to get out of here as soon as possible, this trip will be significantly longer than last time."

Deidara grumbled loudly before standing up and leaving the room, stomping his feet a bit as being bossed around by Itachi. My mother also stood, stretching her back a bit before heading over to the door as well.

"I'll have our things packed up then as well, don't want anything to keep the group behind." She said as she left.

"Good then…Kisame, pack up and also collect food. This trip won't be something where we can enter a town every night." Itachi said as he looked over the scroll one more time.

"Alright." The large blue man said before slipping away.

I just sat there in silence as Itachi stood near the entrance. I wanted to get up but I was worried that Kisame would still be in the hall. It seemed that my nervousness did not go unnoticed by the usually silent man as he approached me and stood near me with his hands holding the scroll lightly in front of him.

"So…I noticed that nothing has changed since we last spoke." He said in his monotone voice, his eyes glancing over the game of Gomoku.

"I can't do what you asked…at least not word for word. I have some pride even if I am working with you willingly, captive or not." I say softly before looking up into his emotionless gaze. "And it's even harder to take your words seriously when you don't even blink your eyes."

"I'm not a very emotional person…You should be able to tell just from how I act around you." Itachi commented lightly before taking a seat. "However, the tense air between you and my partner is making this…difficult. I know he is not at the top of his game mentally. I can read it in his face and expression. And since you haven't said anything else to him all your words have done is cut deeper into is confidence and so on…"

"He was still confident when we first arrived." I said softly, though the blank stare in return only silenced me yet again.

"He isn't one to let things go easily, and if rude comments don't drive him into a rage then they upset him enough to affect his work, and considering we are trying to keep you and your mother alive then you need him to be at the top of his game." He said, pointing out the obvious.

I looked at Itachi in silence, sighing a bit as I sat there. He was right, If I didn't have sex with the damned man then the least I could do was apologize for my words, even if he had deserved every last one of them at the time. If he couldn't keep us safe then we would have a very large dent in our shield. I squirmed a bit in my seat before I stood up.

"I'll go apologize…" I mumbled, Itachi standing as well.

"Good…"

"I swear…if it weren't for the cold stares and monotone voice, you'd be just like my mother." I say as I look up at him.

"I've had practice…Now go help you mother pack, you can go apologize to Kisame later." Itachi said as he headed towards the hall.

I stood there for a moment, wondering how to go about this now. It wasn't like I could just walk up to him, say sorry and walk away. He'd either stop me or he'd want more elaboration than that. On top of that I was still nervous around him because of the incident at the bath house a little more than a week ago, before we had been chased out of town. I know that he hadn't tried to do anything yet but if I did say sorry and he accepted, I feared he'd take that as a bedroom invitation, which it certainly was not. Still, if I needed to, I could run to one of the other men for help…Like Deidara, I could say that Kisame was making me uncomfortable and just stick close to him for safety. If I was lucky then Kisame would just accepted the apology, move on and come back to his normal self.

I went to help my mother after that, getting back to the room shortly. She didn't say much to me other than to make sure that we left nothing behind. Our whole lives were now being carried on our backs and to lose anything was not something she wanted to happen. We were mostly packed, it already being evening when the letter arrived. All that was left was the pajamas they would wear to bed and the clothing they currently head on, but that would be dealt with when needed. My mother got into bed early, wanting to get plenty of sleep before traveling tomorrow, leaving me to head out of the room on my own.

I figured that I should eat and then get to bed, and if I was lucky run into Kisame and apologize to him. Itachi had told him to gather up food for the trip, so it was possible he was in the kitchen. I headed there, planning to kill two birds with one stone. As I approached though I started to get nervous, what if he didn't want my apology and wanted to hurt me as pay back instead? Or worse, what if he tried to get me to have sex with him by saying that was the only way he'd forgive me? It made my stomach flip like crazy! I found myself standing just right next to the entrance of the kitchen. There was shuffling but I didn't know who and I found myself panicking there against the wall.

It was like I was hiding for my life now instead of just trying to find the man I was to apologize to, my heart racing a mile a minute in my chest. I was hunched over in thought eyes closed as I tried to come up with the right words to say, just in case it was Kisame. It was hard though, I couldn't just say sorry I called you names and leave it there, It wouldn't sounds real or sincere. I rubbed my eyes tiredly, finding the stress was doing worse to me than Kisame would. At this rate I'd never say anything at all!

"You aren't very good at hiding…You know this right?" Kisame spoke simply as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

I panicked, I jumped off the wall and across the hall, flattening my back against the opposite side in shock as I looked up at the giant with wide eyes. I had been timing myself to stay calm if it was him and in the end I turned out to look like a complete fool. He only raised an eyebrow at me before he leaned against the wall himself, crossing his arms over his large chest as he looked at me.

"If you want to eat something you can. I haven't cleared it out yet."

I wanted to speak, I really really did, but my voice was caught in my throat and my mouth refused to move. Kisame just stared me down as he looked at each other, his eyes cold and examining as I looked at him like a deer facing a hunter.

"Look, are you going to eat or not?" He asked, sounding a bit irritated now.

I looked at him still, voiceless and illprepared before she growled and turned away. It seemed he was done with me, or at least done trying to speak as if there was nothing wrong between us. The moment he wasn't facing me though I got the courage to speak, if only because his harsh and judging stare was no longer on me.

"I-I'm sorry."

He paused there in the doorway, glancing over his shoulder at me with the most emotion I had ever seen on his face. The same shocked face that he had when I had spoken all those rude words against him.

"I-I'm really…really sorry. I said such mean things to you back at the apartment…I really did. But I was petrified. Ever since the bath house I've been nervous about…everything. I got scared and it didn't help that you kidnapped me as well! I was mad…frustrated and upset over…a lot of things. It just all boiled over and you…you were there. I know what I said was out of line, and you probably don't care, but I really do mean it…I'm sorry."

Somewhere in there, with my jumble nerves and racing heart, I started to cry. Not heavily but there were tears running down my red cheeks. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders yet again, this time the guilt over what I said and the nervous fear of being around him. Maybe…with this behind me, I could start to get to know my new companions better. Looking up at him, he just stood there, now a giant compared to me as I had suck to the floor of the hall.

His shocked expression was gone but replaced with a thoughtful one, one that she didn't think he could make. He crouched down, right in front of me, his hands clasped together as he studied me for a second. For a moment I wondered what someone could be thinking at that moment, maybe that I was a weakling to be groveling like this, saying I'm sorry for having spoken against him…That or he thought I was insane to be the one saying sorry since he started it all, whether he denied it publicly or not.

"You are one…interesting bitch." He said simply as he looked at me.

I blinked once or twice, just looking back at him. I gave a small sniff and rubbed my nose a bit, still sitting there on the ground, curled up as he was still crouched in front of me. Suddenly he had me pinned, not physically but his arms were planted on the wall on either side of me. I tensed again; this was just like the bath house. My heart started to beat erratically and my stomach was doing flips to the point where food was no longer on my mind. He was grinning a bit now, almost as if what had said was not important. Well, at least he was back to his old self…but this now left me with a problem.

"It's a good think I like my things to be interesting." He said smoothly, having wormed his way in to the point here he had his knees between my legs and now was leaning in closer.

The movement was fast and sudden, enough to get past my stiff defenses. His lips were connected to mine, one of his large hands having swooped in and grabbed the back of my head. For the longest moment, I was in shock. I certainly did not expect a kiss to come from all of this. He had seemed so silent and down, and now he was his perky and horny self again! There was no way he had been down, Itachi lied! Kisame was still the same pervy bastard he was before and what I said never had any effect on him other than light shock and maybe humiliation, if he could feel that!

I tried to push back but he was persistent, my eyes such tight as I focused on pulling my head away. It was futile though, he kept our lips locked tight and even had the nerve to wiggle his tongue into my mouth somehow! I would have bit it if he hadn't moved his hand from the back of my head to my jaw, pinching it just so I couldn't close it. He eventually pulled back, allowing me to take in a large breath of air that I desperately needed. I glared at him, angry as hell as he took advantage of me when I was trying to be sincere. He just wore his smug grin as he pulled his hand back.

"Apology accepted." He said simply before standing up and walking down the hall, chuckling a bit to himself smugly.

As he walked on his way, I just sat there glared at his back. My arm darted up to my face and I wiped away the spit from the kiss, feeling like my mouth had gone numb from his tongue. Standing up slowly, I continue to glare at him before I lose my tempter…again.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU RUBE ILL MANNERED BASTARD!"

My words had little effect on him this time around, as he only turned to glance at me over his shoulder as he continued to walk away.

"And proud of it!" He said before turning away and walking down the hall with another chuckle.

***

"I say you brought this upon yourself, un. I mean, this is Kisame we are talking about! You should have known better than to think that something that a civilian said would be taken to heart. He's a Missing Nin, un!" Deidara said as he smiled, my glare doing nothing to get rid of his joy.

"I came to you for help, not teasing!" I say as I reach out to smack his arm, the blond simply brushing it off with a laugh.

"Still though, If Itachi asked you to say sorry then something must have changed in Kisame's attitude enough for him to step in, un. So maybe what you did say upset him, but as soon as you apologized, boom, right back to the old Kisame, un." Deidara theorized as he got up from the chair he was sitting on and joined me on his bed.

I had retreated to his room, telling him all that happened, even what had led to be apologizing in the first place. He simply laughed a first, before calming down enough to speak and give his opinion, which was basically that I was an idiot for believing that Kisame felt guilt or upset over what I said and for taking Itachi seriously.

"Anyway, With Kisame back to normal, I don't think you have to worry about getting attacked by any enemies…though being groped is a whole other issue, un." He said with a teasing grin before backing off a bit. "Now you should get some sleep…It's late, un."

"…Hmm…Fine, I can take a hint…Lazy." I say as I stand up, heading towards the door.

"Seiyuuki, un." Deidara calls to be as I open the door.

I look back at him and his expression had changed, it is no longer joking but serious and thoughtful. He was leaning back on his hands as he seemed to quickly look over my person before speaking again.

"If Kisame gives you any more trouble, come to me. I might not be able to physically beat him up considering out different levels of technique and strength…but I can put some distance between you two, un."

Smiling a bit, I nod my head before leaving the room, heading back to the one I shared with my mother. I don't know whether or not what I had said to Kisame in the past had hurt him or not anymore, but at this point I didn't care. I say my sorry and in the end Kisame reverted back to his horrible and brutish self. Though, he did seem thoughtful after my apology so maybe he had been thinking of how to accept it? Or maybe he didn't want me to see he was happy? Well, whatever the case was, I would not be saying any more apologized to that lug ever again! It was not worth the risk it put on my virginity or pride!

I slept well though that night, I had drove myself into a tired state with all of my grumbling and complaining. It also didn't hurt that I no longer felt nervous or tense from what I had said to him in the past…and now I knew better than to feel guilt for him ever again. Even with the sleep though, I was hardly prepared for the early wakeup call that came knocking at the door…So much so that I actually fell out of the bed.

"God…damnit…" I grumble with my face in the floor, my mother sitting up with a yawn as she looks to the door which had been knocked on loudly.

"Wake up, we will be leaving in the hour. We will be meeting up in the common area." Itachi said smoothly before he walked away, his footsteps slipping down the hall.

"Sweetie…Why are you on the floor?" My mother asks as I sit up.

"No reason…No reason." I yawn as I look up at her on the bed, slowly standing before I shuffle to the bathroom to wash my face.

It didn't take too long for us to clean up and be ready. We shoved our pajama's in out bags and dressed into clean clothing, this time I was wearing one of the few shirts that covered my stomach, though at a price as it showed off my chest instead with its low neck line. Dressed up and as ready as we could be, my mother hand I left the room and headed into the common area, everyone already there and waiting with their own items.

"Morning, un!" Deidara said with a grin as we entered, I returning the smile tiredly before looking around the room.

Sasori was sitting on the floor, as usual, and looking around quietly. I haven't said much to him yet as he really did not come out of his room often enough for me to learn more about him. The little I knew came from Deidara and was anything but positive, apparently their views on art were very…different. Itachi was standing near Kisame, who was holding a sack on his shoulder, along with his large sword on his back. He seemed to be back to his deadly giant attitude, nodding his head simply as Itachi gave him orders. Itachi only gave the ever so sparing glance in my direction before turning from Kisame and speaking out loud to us.

"We'll be making as much of a straight path to the base as we possibly can, with as few stops as possible. We won't be entering towns all the time so we've packed what we could. Kisame, you're going to carry the Miss and Deidara will carry Seiyuuki. We need to make as much distance as possible to day. We've been down low for the last couple weeks but that doesn't mean we're off the watch list. You only stop for emergencies…understand?"

My mother and I nodded our head in understanding while the rest of the men gave like grunts of understanding. With that done, we headed out. There was no need to wait when it was the prime time to sneak out of the forest and move along. Heading out towards the cavern area, I look over to Deidara who was walking rather close to me. He caught me watching and smiled back a bit before giving a small wink.

Though I was a bit worried about leaving his place, I knew that I would be safe for the time being, at least until we were attacked by more ANBU. Still, even with my rant behind me and Kisame no longer acting saddened, this could at least press on without worry on what would come from it. I all honestly, I'm just grateful to finally have someone who was on my side this time around…

Even if it was a hyper active terrorist bomber…


	10. The Meeting

Time is a strange thing, even now I find myself questioning the movement of the sun and the darkening skies every night that passes over our heads. I can feel the cool breeze of the night on my face and the spray of the ocean as it shook the cliffs under my feet. It was freezing and yet comforting at the same, like a reminder that this was reality and that even now the simple things in life still went on, just like time.

"Seiyuuki, dinner's ready! Un!" Deidara called from the camp fire where the others were.

I turned, only to see the group all sitting there. My mother was working on setting out another batch of fish on sticks near the fire to cook them as the other's munch loudly, the habit of eating loudly not being lost on any of the men, save for Itachi. Hidan and Kakuzu were with them now, though the meeting was short, sweet, and to the point…well, as short and sweet as you could get with a zombie ninja and a greedy ninja whose face has still yet to be seen, though he looked more like a stitched up doll than a person. I find myself forgetting just how creepy and strange these people really were the more I was around them…I really was going insane it seemed.

"Coming…" I said softly as I approached them all.

Taking a seat next to Deidara, I also pick up a cooked fish and start to eat, enjoying the food a bit more than I probably would have almost two months ago at this point. I'd be upset and picky and find this to be gross but now…Fish cooked on a stick was the best thing ever! I guess I've changed in more ways than just my sanity, but even now old parts of me still remain, like my terrible habit of worrying and being nervous over everything. We were close, hours away from the base here on the cost. Here, we'd meet…him. The man who needed the information I knew in the first place, who was the real reason I was in this mess and also the only man I could even really fear at this point. After all, when you are around a bunch of killers long enough, even a civilian can be desensitized to their usual fear tactics and so on…That…and it's hard to take these guys seriously when they weren't fighting for…certain reasons.

"Hey! You fucker! That was my fish!" Hidan yelled loudly at Kisame who had taken up the last piece of fish from that batch.

"Not my fault you were too slow, you should have prayed to your dumbass god sooner." The giant blue Kisame retorted with a sharp grin of cockiness and success.

"I'LL FUCK YOU UP FISH BOY!" Hidan screamed as he pounced, forcing the blue man back and sending the fish flying through the air.

Deidara caught it with a smile of success while the others just watched as Kisame and Hidan went at each other. The men had been at each other's throats all week it seemed. Ever since the two got glances at each other it was constant fighting. Thankfully it seemed that neither were serious about killing the other, but more just putting a few good dents into their heads instead. If they really wanted to kill each other she was very certain their fights would involve more weapons and less hair pulling.

"GET OFF ME YOU OLD ASS ZOMBIE!"

"Those two never stop, do they?" My mother said with a light laugh as she started to eat her own fish.

She was adjusting pretty well to all of this; it sometimes made me wonder if she really was just a hooker in her life. I didn't ask about it, mostly because I was more focused on trying to figure out just what this leader person was going to do with her. After all, he originally wanted just a scroll…now he was getting a girl with her mother as some extra baggage. Certainly this wasn't a part of his plan. Still, he seemed to be making adjustments to the situation in his favor and in mine as well. Mom was allowed to stay with me and would be protected as well. Of course, in the end, I'd tell him all he'd ask, I'm no idiot! He was obviously going to use mom as a tool to keep me in line, and at this point, I just didn't care. I was wanted dead by the ninja village, I had killed my eldest brother and on top of all of that, I only had mom left at this point. There was no ties to stop me or make me second guess about betraying that terrible place. Of course…there were some things in this group that made me question if being with them was safe at times, but what could you expect from these men? The only sane ones were Itachi and Deidara…and that was only based on their actions.

Besides, they always say to keep an eye on the quiet ones don't they?

"You'd think those two should just kill each other already." Deidara said as he finished off the last fish for himself, looking over to me.

"Yeah, I agree…They don't really seem to like each other much. What's stopping them from killing each other?" I added.

"Leader-sama." Kakuzu said in his deep voice, catching everyone's attention as we all waited for the next batch of fish to finish cooking over the flames before us. "He has brought us all together with a specific purpose in mind, what it is I do not honestly know just yet…but whatever it is, he needs all the members to be alive and work together. They know this, so even though they wish to kill each other they hold back, if only because whoever survives the battle will have to deal with Leader-sama."

I look back to the two fighting, Kisame having just punched Hidan clean across his jaw, sending the small man flying back into a tree. He had a giant sharp toothed smile on his face as he gave a laugh of success, only to be tackled to the ground again as Hidan wrapped his hands around the blue man's throat in response. It was a strange understanding, but it made sense. If you couldn't kill each other, you could at least beat each other into an inch within your death. Also, just the thought of these guys actually fearing someone else made me a little worried. What did this leader have in store for us? Would he lock mother away and constantly use her as a reminder of my unavoidable enslavement, Or would he do something else like kill her off secretly and then threaten my own survival to insure my obedience? Honestly, I had no idea what to expect other than to be meeting the head of this operation and it was enough to make me feel sick.

"Don't worry, Seiyuuki. Leader needs you like he needs us! Un! On top of that, he already knows you are a person and has made the proper changes. If anything, he'll just ask you questions and leave it at that, un." Deidara said with a simple smile.

"You should hope not, least he drains her of all her information and decides that she is no longer needed by us." Kakuzu chimed in, making me nervous again while Deidara glared at the strange rag doll man sitting with us.

I sigh a bit and my mother places a gentle hand on my shoulder, smiling her knowing smile as she gave it a small squeeze. Smiling in return, I look her in the eye before looking back to the flames, knowing very well that my mother and I were prepared for the worst. If we had to, we'd start to sell ourselves for the benefit of the group, as long as we were allowed to live. It was a dark thing to think but we had had the conversation while on the way here, knowing very well that it needed to be done before it was too late. It was enough to sort of make me quiet for the rest of it, not even saying much to Deidara on it. This leader could change everything with a snap of his fingers and there was nothing we could do other than obey and hope he didn't do something that could hurt us or worse…

"Kisame, Hidan! The next fish are ready!" My mother called to the men, the fight pausing with Kisame crouched over Hidan, his fist about to hit the man's face while Hidan had been biting Kisame's arm violently and causing it to bleed.

They pulled apart in an instant, rushing over to grab a few fish and eat messily, munching loudly and humorously. Diedara just scoffed and rolled his eyes, looking around for a moment before sitting up. "Hey, where is Sasori-sama, un?"

"He went to go meet with Leader-sama, reporting our arrival. Since we stick out too much as a group, we figured that announcing our arrival in the area would be safer and not bring so much attention." Itachi explained as she looked over the group quietly before closing his eyes and seemingly slipping into some quiet meditation.

"Though it seems pointless now considering how loud the both of you got." Kakuzu said back to the eating pair, gaining a glare for both as they continued to eat their dinner.

As if on cue then, the tree line shuffled a bit, putting everyone on alert until Sasori crawled through, his hunched over form so easy to recognize. We all looked at him as he approached, waiting for him to speak and tell us what would be happening. He didn't even take a seat by the fire but instead approached me, looking at me from under the rim of his strange hat, his eyes serious as he spoke in his deep voice.

"Leader-sama wishes to speak with you…privately."

I was certain my eyes were the sizes of dishes and that my mouth hung open a bit. I quickly closed it though and gulped a bit before looking around at the other's, all seeming surprised in some way like I had been. Deidara was like me and the most expressive, the concern on his face more than enough to worry me. Mother was also the same and Hidan just looked confused. Itachi and Kakuzu were the least expressive, if only because they seemed to be the best at keeping their emotions in check. Kisame was rather strange though.

He just looked at me, his gaze strong and simple as he held on to the remains of the fish he had been eating at the moment. There seemed to be a tense feeling coming from him, as if there was slight concern for my life considering where I was going. At the same time he was calm though, as if it wasn't anything he had to worry about at all. It was more, if anything else, a questioning and thoughtful look coming from him, as if saying that he couldn't help but wonder what needed to be said in private to me. Looking to Sasori, who was still staring at me, I slowly stand, patting my mother's hand gently before letting it go. As we start to walk away Kisame spoke, breaking the silence.

"Keep calm, speak even and don't look away…He's someone who appreciates those with strength." He said in a simple mumble of sorts before taking another bite of the fish and chewing it thoughtfully.

Looking at him, I give a small nod of my head. It was the best advice I could get…it was also the only advice but I wasn't going to complain. If it kept me on good terms with the man then I would do it, no matter how hard it was going to be. We walked for quite some time, in fact we walked until the sun had long since set in the west near the coast. The trees had gotten thick and there was no noticeable path that we were following. I didn't say much as we walked, if only for the fact that I nothing to say and I hadn't spoken much to the usually silent Sasori. He seemed to not tolerate Deidara much but he wasn't as loud as Kisame was with Hidan.

"Here." He commanded to me, catching my attention suddenly as a rough looking staircase appeared. In all honesty though, it looked like it didn't belong in the forest, as if it was a part of something that had long since been abandoned in the forest by anyone that lived there. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, I looked over them nervously, it being quite the steep climb. It was probably attached to the cliff I had seen in the distance back at camp. It looked like a pretty little perch but had been really far off. Had they honestly made another safe house in this area? It was impressive to say the least. It seemed this Leader was really good at picking out locations.

"Do I…go up?" I ask softly and nervously, feeling that I was suddenly walking up to the stage of my own death rather than having a simple meeting with the leader.

"He is up there waiting for you." Sasori said plainly as I looked away from him once again.

Gulping once again, I start up the stone steps, taking one at the time as I start my climb. I had not expected this, but in a way it sort of set the mood for what was happening. A secluded place, a leader of a gang of criminals and an innocent victim forced to arrive alone and unprotected. It was like a really bad movie. Sadly, this wasn't acting or on a set…this was reality.

It took some time, but I arrived at the top of the steps with only a slightly tired breath. The sight before me though was honestly amazing. I had never seen anything like it. I stepped onto a platform of stone, a small shrine gate standing at the other end. Past it was a few more steps down, but they just sunk into a massive lake. How could so much water be up on this perch?! It was a miracle of nature, without a doubt in my mind. I walked forward slowly, looking around the platform and realizing that no one was there, at least as far as I could tell. Though I was half expecting him to just be standing out in the open, it's no surprise that this leader was hiding instead. Maybe he was trying to be mysterious, or just waiting for a chance to attack me. It made me a bit nervous to say the least. Constantly looking over my shoulder, I wandered over towards the other stairs, not realizing that they went down much more than I realized. As I came to the top of them I blinked in surprise. There at the bottom of them, standing at the very edge of the water, were two people.

One seemed to be a man and the other a woman, only evidence being the small bun in her bright blue hair. Not the most normal color, but not many in this group were normal. I wasn't sure if approaching was a good idea, I mean, I couldn't even tell if they knew I was there or not.

"Come closer." Spoke the voice of a man.

Okay, so they knew. Slowly I took the steps down, moving towards the woman if only for the fact that I figured they would not appreciate me just stepping right between them. Hesitating a few steps away, I found myself nervously shuffling my hands together, hunching a bit as if I could pull my head into my body like a turtle.

"You've been an interesting development." The man spoke, I still had yet to see his face as I found my feet very interesting at this moment. I felt a hand on my shoulder, making me jump a bit as I looked up to see the woman touch my arm. She was very pretty in her own right, her skin was pale white, her eyes having lovely makeup and a pretty paper rose sitting in her hair. The blue locks shined in the moonlight, making her glow almost. To be honest, she was a nice change to the rough and tumble men I have been around for so long. She pulled me over gently, guiding me to stand and take her place next to him as she took the other side of me.

"Um…I-"

"Don't speak." He interrupts, my mouth instantly locking shut as I force myself not to make a single sound.

He turned to me, long orange hair falling a bit and framing his face. His skin was also pale, strange piercings sticking out of his cheeks and through his nose. His eyes were the strangest though, a deep purple with black rings moving out from his pupil, showing no whites at all. Otherwise, he had a nice face, which was a bit of a shock considering who he had placed in this rag tag group I've been dragged around by.

"I originally sent my men out to collect a scroll, the one that controls the shield over your village. In the end, they bring me you…Why?" He asked as he looked at me, a simple smile on his lips. It was as if he was trying not to look intimidating with his even tone and his gaze light. It actually only made me more nervous.

"I-I-I have a good memory…I was told to read the scroll a few days before your men came. By then the real scroll was burnt and I was all that remained." I said quickly said, glancing to the woman nervously before looking back at the man. I fought my stuttering as best as I could, remembering what Kisame had said to me earlier.

"I see…So then you are the only person who knows the scroll by heart then?" He asked curiously.

"Yes, I know a lot of other things as well…Anything that they didn't want paper copies of." I said softly, looking over the water.

A silence fell over us, making me all the more nervous as I stared down at the edge of the water. I wonder if it was possible for me to drown myself, because this quiet would kill me otherwise! He was just so calm about it, as if I wasn't an unplanned interruption that ruined his original idea. I was half expecting him to just kill me outright after getting the information that he wanted or needed for whatever he was intending to do. Instead he was just…standing there, looking over the strangely placed lake and admiring it in the moon light of the night.

"I wasn't planning on making a new addition to the group…But you have a gift even I can't believe exists."

I froze…He wanted to…have me join? I looked up at him in shock, his gaze falling on me as I hold my breath for a moment. He seemed to get some joy out of my surprise for his smile grew, if ever so slightly. It became a small one though quickly as he took on a very serious look. His eyes were more than enough to tell me that what would happen next was not something to forget.

"I have a dream. This dream is what I strive for, ever since the day I was born. I will not rest, die or give up until my dream is reality. Of course, not many understand it, and few of my men know the truth of it…But they all have agreed to join me in my quest to succeed and bring forth the dream that I hold so dear. Though you only know a few, there are many more, some even as weak as yourself, who are of my organization and also follow my dream." He said smoothly turning to face my fully finally as he pointed at me directly. "However, there are a select few that I place heavy burdens upon, but only because I believe they are able to hold them. I also believe you can carry a heavy burden for me as well. But that is only if you accept it. If you do not though…You and your mother will not live to see tomorrow's sun."

And so came the threat. I was a bit impressed how he delivered it in such an even tone and still sounded more frightening than Kisame did when he yelled at me. Of course I knew my answer, no way would I let him take my mother's life or my own. Of course, before I accepted anything, I had my own questions to ask and proposal to make.

"What will I do?" I question him softly and nervously, fighting the urge to look away and break eye contact. I needed to be strong.

"Your memory is impressive. Information is hard to keep track of and even harder to steal without being marked for death. You can read anything, memorize it and store it without effort, something that not even the best spies can do without putting it down in paper at least once. My organization as collected massive amounts of material and information over time, but keeping it all together is difficult. Along with that, any scrolls we've taken over time are becoming better and better protected, with bomb seals burnt into them to activate a destruction to keep the information in them safe, timed to the point of explosion when we get it in our hideouts." He said, looking over the waters for a moment before turning back to me.

"You're a data center, simply put, a walking and talking library of our collected information. Though it doesn't seem like a big job, you will be required to have a seal placed on your body, forbidding you of speaking what you know to unauthorized individuals. This also means that you will know much more than many of our members that had been with us for a long time. You are a member of the organization at that point, not a captive. You will have say of yourself and will not be dragged about by Itachi or Kisame."

"I see…" I say slowly. The offer was starting to get beneficial now. If I was a full on member, Kisame wouldn't be able to hurt me! It was against the rules to completely hurt a fellow member, meaning that if I complained of the issue to the leader then Kisame risked punishment. No more molestation! It was a hard choice to make though. I had known only the village all my life, and not to be in an organization that was fighting it? It seemed…well, strange to say the least. Still, with my once home now out to kill me and my mother, there was little choice to be had.

"One condition." I say strongly, as it was something that I would be taking as seriously as possible. "My mother…I want her safe and sound and away from any danger. I want her to have a home, a job and just be…be secure in her life. In return, I'll join the organization, I'll be your library and you'll have my complete…loyalty." The last part was hard to say, but I knew in the end, that this was home now. It wasn't peaceful or quiet or safe…but it was better than death.

His expression was simple once again, though lacking a smile as he looked down at me. He was pretty tall, though not as big as the giant I have been with since I left home. I didn't back down though, if it was for my mother, I would do anything. He reached out and grabbed my shoulder, gripping it strongly but not painfully. He then turned to the lake and did a hand seal before the lake suddenly opened up, the stair we were standing on appearing to go to the very bottom of the black lake we stood next to.

"Konan, go and collect the others. Join us inside once you have them." He said as he glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye. She only silently nodded her head before jumping off, heading into the forest to summon the others from the camp. He then turned back to me and started to guide me down, I unable to resist as the grip was strong enough to keep me taking steps.

"Your mother will be taken care of according to your demands. I have connections in the Rain country, I'll have her located somewhere safe and somewhere she'll be able to make a proper living according to how she wishes to live. No harm will ever fall onto her. For this though, I expect you to keep your word." He said seriously, his voice a bit stronger now as he lead me down past the water and into the darkness of the lake.

"My word is all I have, if I can't keep that, I'll be nothing." I retort, what I said more true than anything else I have ever said in my life.

For the longest time, we just descended down the stairs, moving at a decent enough pace. When we reached the bottom, it long since having gotten dark with the moonlight no longer shining down there, there was tunnel of sorts, it at first being a steep slide down before turning into a walking path. When we were both inside the tunnel sealed off from the lake before torches on either side of the path lit up to provide us sight. It felt weird, I was walking with the notorious leader of a deadly criminal gang into one of his lairs with the offering of becoming a rather well of member. I never saw that coming at all. To be enslaved, held against my will…maybe even killed. But no, it was nothing like that at all. I threw a girl like me for an honest loop.

The tunnel seemed a lot longer than the stares, it just going on forever and ever and even deeper into the earth. These guys had a thing for underground places. Finally, we entered an open cavern again, this one much smaller than the other but open enough to signal we were now in the official hideout. It was as well-crafted and sleek as the one before it, though it seemed to have much more room to it. As we walked, he passed some rooms, the kitchen and common area to name a few. I didn't look to them much though, I was more focused on keeping up with the orange haired man in front of me. He took me deeper into the hideout, going down some stairs to another level. This one was a storage area though, one room with crates filled with things that I would assume to be food or weapons. There was only one other room there and it was filled with scrolls and books and papers of all kinds. Piles and piles on the floor, on shelves and on a small desk table sitting in the center of a far wall. It seemed it had been a place to attempt to make copies of the information there that had been abandoned.

"Here is your first task. Everything in here must be recorded into your memory. Once it is all gathered up, you are to destroy it. Once that is done we'll move on to the next base and you'll continue this process over and over again until all our information is gathered up. From there, you'll be rotated regularly around the bases, gathering the information that is sent there and recording it to memory before burning it. Understand?" He said as he looked at me, his hand at his side as I looked over the piles and piles of books and random sheets of paper…there were even few scattered cocktail napkins floating around.

"Yes…I understand." I say in return to him, my eyes looking up at him simply as we share a gaze for a moment.

With that said, that simple smile returned to his face, his form approaching me as he held out a hand in kindness. For a moment the gesture surprised me, as I half expected him to just walk out of the room and leave me to sit there all on my own without anything to do by my job. Looking to it, I reached out and took it, shaking his strong hand a few times before he spoke to me, just holding my smaller one gently.

"You have brought a man closer to his dream and I know the world will soon thank you for it." He said, the words not making much sense to me as I still had no idea what his intentions were. I nodded my head though, just to be safe. After all, he could kill me for any reason he wanted, and I had just gotten into a position where I couldn't have to deal with Kisame any longer. I was not about to mess that up!

"You've done me a kindness as well though, sir…I'd be dead now otherwise." I said softly, knowing that even though he was also the cause of my troubles, he was also the solution. I wasn't about to point fingers either, that could be saved for another day…or lifetime.

Finally he let go of my hand, putting them at his side before he headed for the room.

"You are to not start your work until after you receive the seal. It is late now though and I must be going to deal with other business elsewhere. You'll receive it tomorrow, until then pick a room on the upper level and get some rest, the others are on their way with your mother and shall arrive shortly. Until next time…Seiyuuki."

I look at him in surprise as he turns the corner. How did he know my name? I quickly trot after him, heading to the door as I spoke.

"Hey! How did you-" I stopped, there was no one in the hall, it was empty. Standing there, slightly lost, I let the conversation sink into my mind. I had really done it. I just joined a criminal organization that had originally been out to take out my village. It certainly wasn't what I thought I'd be doing with my life at this point. I felt terrible about it to be honest, but knowing that my mother would be safe justified it enough for me to accept what I had done. I've taken a life anyway, I couldn't do much worse after that…

The sound of footsteps approaching started to sound a bit as I stood in the hall. Man, that leader was good, he was right on with his words. Looking over to the stairs, I start to head up with, feeling in the first time ever confident with what was going on with my life and world. I could only hope my mother would accept the moving and relocation, Last thing I needed right now was an angry mother. As I enter the hall I could see them, my mother trotting in front of them as Deidara walked a bit quickly after her, both smiling at me as the other's took their time.

As I was hugged by her, I let her warmth hit me. It almost felt like I was out in the sun yet again, even though it was still night outside. That was fine though, for the sun had more than just set on this day…but on my old life as well.

I could only hope my new one wouldn't be as messy…


	11. The Possibilities

(A/N: Wow…has it been a long time since I've put up a chapter. I know I didn't write anything to you lovely readers in the update from before, so I apologize for that. I know I could tell you why I wasn't posting, but that's just excuses, even if they are true. I would love to insure you that I do plan to finish this story, and this time not let month's slip by between chapters, at least making a noble attempt at that anyway. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and I hope you'll all forgive me for my absence!)

It's hard to believe, especially for myself at this point, that I have come to a place like this in my life. Then again no one ever really knows where they are going or where they will end up in their future. I certainly didn't expect to be offered a membership into one of the most deadly organizations I have ever seen. After finally becoming a member, I learned a few things, such as the group's name.

Akatsuki.

Quite the name to be honest, it certainly wasn't what I was expecting from a group of wanted S-ranked criminals and missing-nin. However, in a way it did fit the 'dream' that the leader had so fondly spoken about. Apparently it was to seek an honest world, a world where there was no war or lies or anything, only peace and truth. To say it was a farfetched idea would be an understatement! In a world such as this I doubted that things like lying and war would ever end. Still, it was a nice thought, that these criminals weren't just going about trying to make money, but actually had an honest goal in mind. Still, the goal just seemed so hard to believe in…just how did the leader plan to go about it?

I sighed to myself, I could never really stop myself from letting my mind wander onto such topics like that, and then again, when your job is to do nothing but read and then burn what you read, you can get tired of it fast as well. It wasn't the easiest thing either. There was constantly new information coming in and I was already way too far behind. I was making very good progress though; I almost had the floor cleared! When I was first brought into this room of old cocktail napkins and scrolls I thought it would take forever. It turns out though one can really read a lot in one day. Thank goodness I was a book worm from the start, or else I'd just have given up at this point! Glancing to the clock that I had recently put on my wall, something I took from my room on the upper level, I realized that it was two hours past lunch time…my stomach growled as a reminder that I has put off a meal far too long.

Sighing again, I stand up, closing the scroll I had just finished and tossing it into a box of papers that I needed to burn. I usually did it every time I ate. It meant I know what I read and what I burned and nothing would be nosed over by the others. So far, as much as I knew anyway, none of the other's had ever seen the room I worked in. They knew it was there but they never stayed long enough at the bases to have the time to peak. Not like any of them seemed to care though, they had more important tasks to work over and finish, such as tasks from the leader and so on. I was glad though, it meant I didn't have to worry much about an info leak of any kind. I wasn't too keen on learning on what my seal did to me anyway…

The blue haired woman, who later told me her name to be Konan, was the one who placed it on me. It had been painted on but once it was finished it became like a black tattoo on my back. I could never see it well anyway, only remembering a few parts to it before I was pulled away from admiring the work on my body to be taken to a quick uniform fitting. It really was more her throwing a coat at me as well as some pairs of black pants and black fish net shirts to wear. It was a nice change to the other clothing I had been given to wear by Kisame though, this actually covered me up and kept me warm. I rarely got to wear the coat though, there was no point wearing it inside. After that, I was put right to work, unfortunately learning that my original purpose had become useless a few days after my capture.

Apparently even my village didn't trust me with some things, as there was more to the shield scroll than I ever thought. According to spies of the organization, the shield scroll had been also protecting something else, a scroll with names. Names of what I had no idea…but names that the leader wanted. The only reason I was learning about it though was because leader wanted me to memorize a stolen map of the scrolls new location. It was rough, but I would have it memorized in no time. Enough to be able to give anyone who asked a good pin point location of said scroll…at least when the other info arrived. I only just had a map so far and nothing else on it.

Grabbing the box, I headed up to the next level, planning on burning the papers while I snacked on something. I didn't know what it would be though considering that I had been in the base all alone since I had joined. It was strange really; the moment I joined it seems that everyone was suddenly on a mission and running about doing errands for the leader. I barely was given a moment to say goodbye to my own mother before Deidara and Sasori took her off to the rain county. I'm just glad to know that my mother is safe and sound now; they even sent me a letter! How it arrived I had no idea…it just ended up on my desk one day. I've learned it to be the main way that leader likes to communicate with those who aren't above ground. I don't know how he does it, but he does it and at this point I've just learned to accept it…Though I'll be honest, with all this solitude I would appreciate a short hello every now and then. The letter with mother had been short, but not without love and care.

She was smart like that to keep things simple and to the point. Considering she wasn't happy to know I had just joined a criminal organization, I had gotten quite an earful from her right in front of the others for that choice. She had little choice but to follow though, least my sacrifice be made in vain. I'm far happier knowing she's well off now, save in a nice apartment working as a waitress in a bar that was in a hotel, apparently a bar that was frequented by our organization…or at least by members who were in the area. The loneliness is hard to deal with though. I would think this place to have some life to it but no…it is only me.

Stepping onto the next level, I hum a bit to myself to pass the time on the way to the kitchen. It was near the entrance and for good reason as well. You'd be surprised how hungry one could be after living off gathered food and meal bars…Deidara could half his weight away in food alone! As I approach the training area I hear something, and then something else. At first I thought I was just hearing the create of the place, it was under a lake after all and it echoed like crazy in the halls. It was amazing that I didn't get paranoid with all the strange sounds at night! These noises though weren't echoes…

I glance around the corner of the door, holding the crate close to my chest. Even though I'm a part of the organization didn't mean that I was comfortable just yet. There were other's that didn't know of me more than likely, or at least some I have not yet. I don't know how many but not knowing some was not knowing too much in my opinion, especially considering what these people were usually like. I feel my throat clog as I see none other than my first captor and molester, Kisame. He was shirtless for some reason, probably because at the moment he was ripping a wooden dummy a new one. I was certain that if that training post could feel pain it would be screaming in agony with the way his punches shook it so violently. It held strong somehow though, taking his strong kicks and arm swings.

I didn't really try to hide anymore as I watched, half covered by the wall while the box, arms and face stuck out obviously as I watched him train. It was strange, in the beginning I would fear this man but now…It was hard to explain. The moment that I said I joined his whole person changed, his expression his way of looking at me. It didn't have that desire to tease, to lust after. His face just became a solid brick. It also didn't help that he seemed to be gone just as much as everyone else, if not more so. I made me wonder why he would change so suddenly around a person like myself. I hardly changed, unlike Hidan, I couldn't take a hit, not even a small tickle. And yet Kisame was no avoiding me like I was contracting the plague. A part of me was glad for it but another smaller part was insulted…He had been so pushy and now…it was as if I had turned suddenly ugly or something! It wasn't the most logical feeling to have considering what he has done but damn it I'm a woman first and I have some pride!

I was finally noticed though as Kisame took a pausing in his fighting, originally just lazily glancing over in my direction to shake out the sweat from his hair, only to turn back and look at me more alert. I wasn't sure how long we stared at each other, eyes locked as I still held onto my box, slowly stepping out into the doorway as my nails dug into the wood harshly. Even now, with his distance I still feared him, but at the same time I strangely craved the attention…He was the only one to ever approach me in that way before, even if it was against my will…

I shake my head roughly, bringing myself out of such ridiculous thoughts. I in no way wished for Kisame to go back to his old ways! No way, no how! I couldn't even believe that I had thought such a thought. Playing off my sudden movements I spoke, trying to smile though it came off small, shy and nervous as it always did around him.

"Welcome back…" I start slowly, adjusting the box in my grip. "I didn't hear you enter, I suppose I was sucked into my work. When did you return?" I quickly ask, trying to make light conversation.

He continued to stare, but not so obviously this time, turning away for a moment to grab a nearby towel and wipe the sweat off of his face and body. He then tossed it over his shoulder before walking closer without hesitance.

"Few hours ago." He said sternly, his face solemn as he stood before me, a good few feet away as he paused.

I noticed that his headband was gone, and his sandals had been kicked off as well for his training. He was still sweating a bit, even after wiping down and he was breathing a little heavy from having suddenly stopped his hard work. I couldn't see much else though, it was as if nothing he had done in the past, or even said in the past, had ever happened and we were just two people who happened to know each other.

"I…I see…" I said slowly, his demeanor making feel as if this was his version of the cold shoulder. It certainly felt like it with the way he held himself. I stood there for a bit longer before I had to break the silence again. "Well! I'll leave you alone then…I-…I've got my work to do."

I turned on my heel and started to quickly make my way to the kitchen once again. Walking quickly again as I feel him watching me.

"Alright…" He responded simply, his voice hanging before I hear him turn and leave the doorway.

I stopped myself, turning to see that he did leave just as the sounds of training started to sound once more in the halls of the base. I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here on his own. Why without Itachi? Usually they were inseparable. Up until I had been added to the group, they were never apart for missions. I wondered for a moment if maybe Itachi was here, just somewhere else in the base and keeping to himself. Entering the kitchen, I paused a moment in the doorway as before, half expecting to see Itachi sitting there eating, but he wasn't, only making me further realize that I probably really was all alone with Kisame. Taking a deep breath, I went about my work. Kisame's new attitude was more than enough to tell me that he wasn't going to make a move, but one could never be too certain around a missing-nin. They had the ability to be just as fickle.

I set the box on the table before going about making some food, nothing fancy, just some pieces of dried fruits and nuts that had been in the cabinets. I didn't like making too much of a mess anyway when I was also the only one eating. Taking a seat, I rested for a moment, just looking at my box. I knew every word in there, from the plans for a base in the south to the information on an ambush on a target of theirs. And now I was to burn it, as required of me, to keep anyone else from learning of our past or present plans. I huff a bit, feeling that this was a bit wasteful of paper, even if a very good safety measure to me taking. If only I had had the ability to actually out it to use, such as fueling a fire to keep warm. It wasn't needed for the base though, it stayed a comfortable temperature always. I had no idea how but it did.

Instead I stand again, wandering over to a drawer and pulling out a box of matches. I also grabbed a towel and quickly dried out the sink before tossing some of the pages into it. I had to become creative when it came to figuring out where to burn all of the papers. The sink had seemed to be the safest place, If need be I could soak the fire if it had gotten too out of control. Thankfully it had never come to that point…yet. I pulled out a match and lit it, looking over the yellow flames before tossing it into the sink and watching the papers go ablaze in fire. It didn't take long before it had all been consumed and all that remained were ashes. Repeating the process until nothing remained of the papers in the box, I started to scoop the ashes of the the sink, they would have clogged the drain otherwise.

It was around then that I heard something behind me, a shift of something. I would have thought nothing of it but then I remembered that I wasn't alone. Pausing, I turn around, seeing another familiar face…Itachi. Glancing quickly to a clock that had been placed in the kitchen, I realized my burning piles had been a bit more than usual. It had taken me a few hours to finish all of the burnings! It wasn't usually that long, an hour at most. I looked back to see him observing me for one reason or another, quiet and calm as ever.

"Welcome back…" I said as I did before to Kisame, giving a bit of a calmer smile before turning back to my work. "Did Kisame leave ahead of you? Usually you both come back together." I stated, knowing very well how the duo worked together after seeing them coming and going way too many times to count.

"We had separate missions this time around…I didn't know he was back." Itachi said in his smooth voice, making me look to him again in surprise.

"A private mission?...That's unusual…Are you all supposed to work in teams?" I asked plainly, as I scooped up more ash into a small trash can I had pulled over from the wall.

"Yes, but I was informed he had a private summon from leader. He didn't tell me much more." Itachi replied as he moved over to the table to have a seat.

A strange silence fell over us as I continued to clean up my mess, finishing and setting the trash back in place without much though. As far as I knew there was no type of jutsu for bringing paper back to its proper state after being burned, so I wasn't worried about the ashes being left there. Besides, they'd probably be taken to wherever the other trash I made was taken. Wandering back over to the table, I stand near my box, grabbing the edges gently. Now it was time to fill it all over again. I had to go and finish the last of the papers and this base would be done. But there were an unknown number of bases left to finish, and this one took me weeks to do on my own. Glancing to Itachi out of the corner of my eye, we lock gazes for another moment before I look away again.

"Itachi…" I started to say, turning to face him completely. "Has Kisame been acting different for some reason? I mean…well…You remember the beginning. You were there! Kisame doesn't seem like the person to suddenly give up on something that he…desires." I finished, choosing my last word carefully as I knew damn well that it wasn't affection that had been driving him to molest me in a bathhouse of all places.

Itachi said nothing for a while, just sitting there in silence with a thoughtful look on his face. He adjusted himself in his chair a moment, resting an arm on the table lightly as he looked up at me again, strangely serious this time. "Right after you joined, Kisame was called by the leader before this time. I had no idea what they would need to speak of but when we met up again on our mission he seemed to be thoughtful…and concerned. I wasn't sure what was said, but I do remember that I hadn't left out any details in the reports…even the less that kind one's on Kisame's image. I've notice that he's been distant with you, both in topic and in conversation. I've come to believe that leader has put a forbidden marker on you."

"A…what?" I said, looking more confused than understanding.

"Leader had you join for a reason and you are right…Kisame doesn't give up easily. I believe that leader gave Kisame a warning to control himself, least he risk doing something to jeopardize the plans more than they already have with us having to take you in the scrolls place. I'm certain you are aware now of what you were taken for originally?"

"Of course, first damn paper I picked up. I was to unlock another scroll for you guys." I retorted quickly as he started to listen to him better now.

"We can't risk another dramatic change in plans again; on top of that you know too much of our information now for it to be alright for you to have a mental breakdown…Leader can't afford it. At least, this is my theory." Itachi finished, looking as calm and cool as ever.

"So you're telling me that the only reason that Kisame isn't coming near me is because leader thinks physical contact is a risk?" I questioned, the idea making no sense save for the part about his molesting ways being a cause of me having a break down.

"Yes… and no." Itachi corrected. "Emotions are strong things, Seiyuuki, you know that better than any of us. If Kisame were to become emotionally attached it would be devastating…a weakness. Kisame is and will always be a man of loyalty. If he believes in it then there is nothing stopping him from following it through. As his loyalty is for the Akatsuki…it's possible it could be for you."

"You mean…He might have feelings for me…like, romantically?" I asked, feeling slightly breathless at the notion. I had never thought that anyone would love me like that, especially now that I was marked as a criminal and killer just like the other's. Even if it was Kisame who was the possible man it was still…well, flattering. Even more so considering how I treated him in the past.

"Can't say. Kisame hasn't spoken of any of this with me. This is all speculation on my part. Though, the evidence that is before us makes it all seem very likely. Kisame's never had reason to avoid a member so feverishly before. Like I have said, his loyalty is strong to the organization…It's probably the only thing keeping him from acting on his emotions now." He said coolly to me once more before he stood up.

"What if he does then, have feelings for me I mean? Feelings are feelings, what harm are they? You can't tell a person how to feel, killer or not." I said, finding this course of action to be the wrong one. Yeah, it was nice knowing that Kisame wasn't going to molest me anymore, but forcing him to keep his emotional distance as well made keeping a comfortable team relationship difficult if not impossible. If he wasn't allowed to come near me then how could I learn to adjust? "Besides, he had one thing on his mind in the beginning, I doubt that it has changed since then."

With that said I grabbed my box, making my way towards the kitchen door. I could feel Itachi watching me with his eyes, turning to face me still from his spot near the table.

"There's more to Kisame than what you see on the outside Seiyuuki, you should also know that very well. Besides…I believe this meeting with the leader was requested by him…You might want to keep that in mind." He called out to me; catching me and making me pause in the doorway.

I hesitated, even though I would have preferred to just keep moving on. Itachi had a point. Kisame constantly whined to Itachi he had lost his chance on me when I was still captive. If there wasn't another reason then he wouldn't be so calm and private about it. Had I really done something to affect him emotionally? If so then, what could someone like me do? I shake my head again and quickly move along, leaving the conversation like that. There was no way that Itachi was right. Kisame had been driven by lust and that was all. I had such terrible things to Kisame, there was no way that he would have feelings for a girl that so heartlessly hit him and yelled such cruel things. It just didn't makes sense at all! I quickly headed to my work not even daring to peek into the training room and as trotted right by. I didn't want to see Kisame now, the idea that Itachi presented seemed ridiculous and foolish. Still, Itachi was never the kind of man to make pointless guesses or silly assumptions. He observed things well and even was the one who suggested that I apologize to Kisame. In the end it just brought the old Kisame but…but he hadn't done anything other than kiss me. I still didn't like it though, it just…well it just didn't fit what had happened to us.

Arriving in my work area I tossed the box onto the floor tiredly, not realizing that I had gotten so tired. I would have gone upstairs to sleep but with the two of them up there I just didn't want to risk it. I could bump into Itachi again and be further enlightened on how my molester might be in love with me, or worse, I could run into Kisame and be unable to get the idea of him having feelings out of my head! No…working sounded like a much better…much safer option to the other two.

Moving over to my desk and slumping into the seat, I looked over the map of the scroll location I had left open. I had only gotten half of it looked over and memorized, having paused for lunch with the other. Any idea of dinner also seemed like a silly idea, as my appetite had suddenly disappeared. Grabbing a corner, I start to rub it between my thumb and forefinger lightly, taking in the feel as I try to think about what Itachi meant by all of that and what I could have possibly been missing in the way Kisame acted.

I could only hope that work would help me get by and maybe keep my mind off the strange possibilities…

(A/N: Another one? Man, I am just terrible I keeping my notes together! Just wanted to say quickly that I appreciate all that you, the reader's, are doing. I've gotten a couple more watchers for this story and I wanted to say thank you for taking interest at this point. The fact you even clicked on this story with such large a large gap between the publishing date and update date is surprising, for I wasn't expecting to get any more people to take interest since my constant disappearances. As for my other readers, I do hope you have returned and enjoy the hard work I am putting into this stories completion. Reviews are always welcome!)


	12. The Lie

Finally! It was done! I couldn't believe it myself after seeing that the burning box was full and not a scrap of paper remained on the floor for me to read. For a moment, I thought I had missed something, but after thinking on it, it was true that everything had been read. It was a shame that I had no idea on how to contact the leader, but it seemed like it honestly didn't matter because the moment I stepped into the kitchen there was a letter sitting there simply with my name on it…

Damn, it only just got creepier every time he did that!

Setting the box off to the side on the table, I grabbed it and opened it slowly, wondering what it would say. I couldn't imagine him knowing that I had finished my work; then again he seemed to know when to time the arrival of letters very very well. As I glanced over the paper, I took in his message slowly, letting it sink in.

_Seiyuuki, you are to be moved to a base south of your current location, located near the village of Takigakure. Your job is as always, Read all the paper documents and memorize them, burn them once that is done and make sure to clear the room as always. You'll be escorted by a single member to keep unnoticed; rumors from the spies say that your country is still on high guard and still roaming and searching for you. It is of high priority that you do nothing to be discovered. You'll remain at that location until further instructions are given._

Short, simple and to the point, just something I could expect from the leader. He was a man of few words in his writings. And considering there was a lot I had to do still, it was no shock he was so quick with keeping me working and moving. Hesitation was the only thing that could push back leaders plan any further at this point. I look over the letter again, realizing that he hadn't named exactly who would be taking me. I hadn't seen the others in ages, Itachi had left for another mission and Kisame was… keeping to himself. In fact, I hadn't seen him anywhere else in the base other than the training room that one time, not even looking around the kitchen for food! I had no idea if he was still around or not, the man certainly wasn't making an effort to say hello.

I couldn't help but wonder if it just might be one of the other members' taking me. I learned that there were two others who didn't show up too often at bases. Their jobs apparently constantly called for being out of the field and having distant chats with leader. It was possible they were the spies. If that was the case I doubted they'd be taking me then. They were probably were busy spying on another village or something and there was no reason to pull them away from that job…It had a bit more of a current purpose after all. I was just around documenting all that the organization had collected over the years. If I had to compare it to anything, I'd have to say there was more than enough info probably to fill the library back home three times over! And all in scraps!

I sighed softly to myself, looking around the area and wandering back over to my box. It would have to be whoever was near me at the moment, and for all I knew it would be days before anyone actually arrived to take me, leaving me alone and now without things to keep me busy until then. Time was going to feel like it was standing still, I just knew it! For now though, I had papers to burn and that would hopefully pass a couple hours. There was a lot in my box at the moment. The only reason that I didn't want to run out of things to do was because recently my mind had been…wandering.

Itachi had planted a weed in my brain, and nothing was killing it. No matter how much I read and learned and burnt nothing would make that little thought go away…That Kisame might love me…or like me…or even have any remote feelings other than hate or lust for me. The concept often left me sitting awake at night, questioning what I had done to bring forth such ideas into his head. Last time I checked slapping someone on the face was not a way of flirting or kindness. Neither was calling someone terrible names. It just didn't make sense to me at all. Still, Kisame had been so pushy and determined before, grabby and flirty. It made no sense for him to suddenly back off with his approaches either. Maybe he had been lusting back then…but something changed and made him distant, whatever the reason was I had no idea. I drove me mad though, it certainly made conversation more difficult than it had been when he was forward!

I groaned a bit before resting my head on the edge of my box. I stared at the kitchen floor for a long while, the small room feeling rather large and empty as I took a moment to think over things. This was ridiculous. There was no way that Kisame could have any romantic feelings for me. If so then they were probably just lusting and dangerous. That had to be the reason he was backing off. He knew his limits and after having joined the organization I had lost my label as attackable. I was just as protected by the leader as he was, more so now that I had many of the leaders secrets in my mind and well as plans. They may have not been major plans but after reading enough of them it was more than enough evidence to put quite a bit of trouble into the leader's lap…

And as long as trouble stayed out of his lap, it stayed out of mine.

"Of all the things to make me think of, Itachi…You make me think of him." I muttered under my breath before standing up.

"Seiyuuki."

I jumped, shocked to my core at the sudden sound of Kisame's voice. So he had stuck around, he could have said something then, damn it! I had knocked over the box in the process, all of my covered papers spilling onto the kitchen floor while my sent letter was floating through the air in the direction of Kisame. The large blue man caught the letter mid-air, glancing over it quickly before looking back to me with the solemn expression he seemed to be wearing constantly around me since the beginning of my work at the base.

"It appears you've already been informed…partially." He said simply, his tone even and deep as he wandered a bit closer and set the later on the clean part of the table where my papers hadn't fallen too.

I had crouched down at this point, having done so in natural response for my defense. Being around killers made one jumpy, even if you were on their side. It also didn't help that Kisame was a sore subject, Itachi had not done me any favors there. When he seemed to add the word partially as a second thought I turn to him confused, handfuls of paper in my fists as I pause in my attempt to clean up.

"What?" I asked just ask plainly, though the uncertainty on my face was probably rather easy to read.

"I'm escorting you to the next base…We'll be making our way around the bases together for the next while."

"W-what?" I said again, this time my voice obviously broken as I felt my eyes widen.

Kisame seemed a bit irritated at the moment, a frown on his face as he stood there, looking down at me. Being crouched only made me feel all the more like an ant around this man; it didn't help with him staring at me like he wanted to smack me. He's already done enough to me to leave me scarred anyway. Turning, he didn't even speak until he was halfway out the kitchen door.

"Burn your papers, we have to get moving. Leader want's us traveling by tonight."

With that he was gone and I was left to pick up the mess I had made. For the longest time I just crouched there on the kitchen floor, feeling my stomach sink into my feet as the idea of traveling along with him brought back up memories of the last time we were travel companions. This time it would be worse, and not even because he had molested me! I would now have to figure out how to break the ice with a suddenly distance Kisame as he was my only protection on the road and the only other person I would have to speak to. Not to mention…if Kisame was holding back, I could not be assured that he would be able to control himself out in the forest. Then again, leader was an observant man and I was certain that if he had been the one to keep Kisame back he would not let things slip by…Damn it, this made things so difficult!

Standing up, I took the fistfuls of paper I had and shoved them back into the box. It was just so annoying. I didn't know what to think at all anymore. Was Kisame interested? Was he not? Had he been threatened by leader or did my sudden status change just make me lose appeal. Why did I even ask myself these stupid questions?! Kicking the papers still on the floor I growled and started to tug on my hair. I had hit my end. Itachi had started my brain going and I couldn't keep myself in check any longer. I had to know what had changed Kisame so much! He had abandoned his original intentions for no reason and I could not fight myself…I just had to know why! The only problem is that I had one choice available to me… and that was the blue man himself.

I had no idea on how I would go about it. How did you ask a man why he was no longer trying to rape you? More importantly why would you? I swear I was starting to sound insane. Yep, it was definitely from all this organization stuff. It was probably the solitude driving me mad but I craved to know why Kisame suddenly just didn't care…It made me sound egotistical. Grabbing up the rest of the papers on the floor, I harshly shoved them into the sink and started a fire, continuing to add more and more papers to it as the fire burned on. I'd ask him. I had no clue on how to but I'd ask. He just had to have some reason. And that is all I wanted to know. It wasn't because I felt lonely, or that I craved his attention and it certainly wasn't because it made me feel wanted…Though thinking on it Kisame was the only man to look at me like that…Oh Kami, something had to be wrong with me.

In the end, the fire burnt out on its own and I abandoned the box, leaving the kitchen to go pack up a sack so that we could leave quickly. Maybe stepping outside would help clear my head, get my mind off of this stupid and dangerous topic and shut my thoughts up. If it didn't work…well, I knew that it wasn't going to be the easiest trip to make. If anything, maybe some forced face to face time would help lighten the crushed mood that had been stuck between us for the longest time. I hated it, not because of how it kept us distance, but how it strangely made me feel that it was my fault that it even begun! That didn't matter though, we'd be stuck together for a long time and not even Kisame could keep silent for very long…

Alright…So I was corrected on that last part. Kisame had not said a word to me since we left. As the trip went on he seemed to get tense as well, constantly looking over his shoulder and then to me. Sometimes we'd make eye contact but it would quickly end with him looking away once more. I couldn't tell what it was that made him feel like this, his body language was so hard to read now. It was as if he was trying to hide how he felt, while at the same time strongly hinting at his discomfort. All I could do was just follow and walk with him, keeping his pace as we walked through the forest, no solid path for us to follow from the base. I wasn't sure where we were going but I had a feeling that the majority of the trip would be off the roads. Leader had wanted me to be as discreet as possible after all. Not being seen at all was as discreet as one could ever get!

We chatted lightly, though it was mostly me asking questions and him bluntly answering with one word answers. He wouldn't even say if we were camping out or not! It certainly didn't make it any easier on me who was still pretty clueless on what the travel plan was. I swear, that man wanted me to be as much in the dark as possible. I couldn't get myself to try and ask about the reason for his distance though, I'd try and I'd feel my throat close a bit. How could I bring up such a strange and awkward topic? It didn't even make sense that I was even asking it, I should have been happy to know that Kisame wanted nothing to do with me now…but for one reason or another I wasn't happy. In fact, I was hurt. We were on the same side finally and now he wanted to treat me like nothing! Why couldn't he have done that when I was being a hostage! It'd make this all the less confusing and awkward.

"We'll stop here for the night." He spoke suddenly, stopping on a dime. I nearly ran into his back but caught myself as I looked forward to see a village off in the trees. It was a simple one, and didn't seem to be protected by anything other than some common place guards, general police force really. They'd have no reason to believe us to be a threat at all, places like this only housed ninja's in their motels, not actually support them.

"Oh…okay…" I say slowly, glancing up at him to see his gaze seeming to look past the village. Moving my gaze I tried to find what he was looking for but didn't see anything strange or out of place. Maybe it had been too quick for me to see, or just some ninja technique that I didn't understand because…well, I wasn't one.

Slowly entering the village, I realized that it had gotten rather late, so much so that the night had turned a dark hue of purple with only a few lines of light remaining in the sky. My thoughts were even messing with my observation skills! I had to just figure out what it was that made him change. Maybe then I'd be able to focus on the work that I had to get done quickly…or just be able to focus on things in general. As we entered the village, we had no trouble going about our business. We didn't even get any attention for our strange cloaks and hats. As we entered a nice looking inn, I took in the air of the place. Maybe I was just over thinking things but something about this place as a familiarity that it shouldn't have. I glanced to a free village map, left for tourists interested in trying to see some sites while there. It mentioned several nice rivers and good hot springs with healing properties. Other than that, there didn't seem much else to the tiny little village we had discovered.

"Your room, sir." The desk clerk said as he handed Kisame a pair of keys. I looked up just in time to see it happen. So we'd be sharing a room then. Understandable since there was only two of us…though it certainly didn't make sense for the way he was ignoring me. Maybe he didn't have a choice now because of the mission. He could only keep so much distance before it started to cause problems for the actual traveling.

I moved after him quickly, making sure to keep up as he headed up the stairs to the room where we were placed. It was a simple inn, though it seemed rather big and nicely decorated in the lobby. It obviously meant that this village was for more than just stopping though; it had a tourism aspect to it. It seemed strange for the village but hey, beggers couldn't be choosers, especially myself. Stopping with Kisame, I watched him unlock the door and the two of us stepped into the room.

First thing I noticed was the two beds. Thank goodness that I didn't have to worry about that! After all, I hadn't been so lucky the last time I was in an inn with some of the members. On top of that it meant we wouldn't have to try and work through the still strange air that seemed to be hovering around us. I took the small sack I had on my shoulder and set it on a wall near the far bed, taking off my cloak as well before sitting down and sighing a bit. We may have only started traveling but I was already pretty tired. I blamed it on having been locked up in the base all alone. I just never took the time to do much moving around when I was there. I always had work to get done.

Kisame seemed to relax ever so slightly, having brought nothing other than his sword and whatever else he hid on his person. He apparently didn't see a use in bringing extra clothing. Watching him walk over to the window for a moment and set his sword by it, I wondered what the plan was from here. Did we still need to take a forest route? How long would we be on the road, a couple days, maybe a week? The only thing that was certain was that I had work to do and Kisame was the only one who seemed to be available to take me, other than that, I felt like I was stuck in the dark.

"We should eat soon…" I said slowly, hoping that maybe starting on some dinner would lead to conversation. It was a very small hope but it was still a possibility as well.

"The inn has a bar…they should have something to serve." He retorted shortly as he turned and faced me, his expression simple and plain as he also took off his cloak and headband. "We'll move out in the morning, early. It isn't too far of a trip to this base. We'll get there by late evening."

Standing up from the bed, I nodded my head at his words. That was a good thing to know at least. It seemed he just didn't feel comfortable talking about the plans in the open, a legitimate reason considering the situation. Still didn't help much with the awkward air that was seemed to be hovering between us since I had joined the organization.

"Alright then, so dinner?" I say, trying to muster a smile but only able to give a nervous and shy grin. He barely nodded his head before he headed out the door, locking it behind us and tucking the key into his pocket.

The bar wasn't too far from the stairs, right next to it in fact. Probably for the patrons that had rooms there and drank far too much to be able to walk for very long. As I entered it with him we both grabbed seats at a small table tucked in the back. We were still trying to stay out of sight after all, Sitting at the bar would bring us far too much attention for there to be any positive repercussions. As I took my seat, Kisame did a glance behind himself before taking a seat of his own. A young woman approached us, acting a bit nervous. I didn't blame her though, Kisame was hardly an innocent looking person.

We ordered our meals without much thought, taking what they had to offer and leaving it at that. Kisame seemed to want to get the meal done with and get into bed. It probably wasn't because he was tired though. We were rather close to each other and there wasn't much else to stare at other than each other. I had no doubt in my mind that he was dreading the wait that would be until the food arrived. After all, all that there was left to do until we had food was to talk with each other. This was my chance though. Here Kisame couldn't run away, couldn't try to avoid me for possibility of attracting attention. He had no choice but to answer my questions!

"So…How goes the training?" Okay, so not the greatest question I had but it was enough to break the ice…Right?

"It's fine…" He replied simply.

"You've been doing a lot of training recently…trying to stay in shape?"

"Of, course."

"Missions have been going good I hope…"

"As planned."

Alright…so this wasn't exactly getting me anywhere. His was just being so curt with his words that I found myself just going quiet after that and staring at the water rings that my glass made from the condensation. Well, it seemed he won out that round, even I was starting to wonder where our food was. As I looked up, I saw the waitress trotting over with our plates…and some ninjas walk in. At first I was just curious, seeing as their clothing was simple and plain and I couldn't see the symbols on their head bands. I looked down at my food and took a few bites before looking up again…and nearly choking.

My other brother, Orokashii, was here! I panicked and bad, diving under the table and dropping my chopsticks loudly on the table. I probably caught Kisame off guard when I suddenly grabbed his leg and pulled myself to the space between his leg and the wall. Looking up to him, I freaked out as I spoke very softly.

"My brother is here!" I said in a harsh whisper, the information causing Kisame to glance over his shoulder quickly before looking forward again. "You killed him." He retorted just as softly.

"Not that one, He's my other half-brother! The tallest one of the pack." I quickly say I stayed covered by the cheap table. Tucking myself down, I let him do whatever it was he was doing up there before I heard a small grumble under his breath. Even if he didn't recognize my brother he was definitely able to tell the symbol of my village on the forehead protectors they wore.

"That explains a lot…" I heard him mumble before he reached under the table and grabbed for me. "You go grab the stuff from the room, I'll create enough of a distraction for you to get by."

With that said, he pushed the keys into my hand and was gone...

Peeking out from under the table desperately, I watched in horror as he approached my brother. Orokashi must not have been familiar with Kisame's face because he didn't react to him badly as he first looked up at the man. In fact, his expression was dull until Kisame seemed to say something to piss him off. Before I knew it I saw my brother sock Kisame in the eye, causing the giant to fall before rolling and bringing himself back up and lunging at the grass-nin while his fellow ninja jumped back in shock and surprise at the sudden turnabout. Well he hadn't lied, he provided a distraction.

Without a second thought, I moved. Crawling as quickly as I could, I left the bar with not a single head turning my direction. The fact that Kisame had five ninja on him though, hanging off of him while he just started tossing them about was probably a very interesting show. Turning the corner, I marched up the stairs as quickly as I could, sliding in front of our door as I clung onto the key. It took me a minute because I was trying to be so fast, but when I got the door open I was able to quickly slip in and close it before locking it behind me. I rushed about, pulling on my cloak and hat while grabbing the sack and tossing it over my head and onto my back. Then I started to grab Kisame's cloak when the knob on the door began to jiggle. Shit! They must have figured out something was up.

I darted to the window with Kisame's cloak and hat in my arms, pulling open this glass before I realized that I couldn't get out that way. There was no deck for me to step on to, not even a small ledge. It was just straight wall all around the window. It was at times like these that I wished I was a ninja. At least then I might have been able to escape to safety. I didn't even get a second to think on it before it was too late, the door was blown down by an explosion, a couple of grass ninja rushing in to pause and see me standing there.

"There she is! It's Seiyuuki-sama!" One called loudly as I started to hear more feet rushing in this direction. I didn't have a chance to think about how they still used that suffix with my name, I was more determined on trying to guess if I'd survive the jump or not.

I didn't get a chance to find out the answer though as a pair of arms swooped in from the window and pulled me through, along with grabbing the sword.

"Apparently your brother isn't as dumb as I thought." Kisame said roughly and deeply, panting a bit as he suddenly was holding me while the other hand gripped onto his sword.

"How'd he know?" I asked quickly as Kisame shoved himself from the wall and fell to the ground, causing a large shake as he landed and startling several people.

"He sensed you, I caught him off guard with a punch or two but as soon as he got it out that he felt your chakra I knew I had to get back here."

I looked up to see the ninja sticking their heads out the window before pulling back. They either were going to make a jump for it or run down the stairs, neither option was nice though as it meant that we had to run.

"Good thing you did." I mutter just as Kisame started to jump onto the buildings running with all his muscle while several ninja appeared out of nowhere. Just how many was my brother with? There were at least seven already and I was certain that when I looked down into an alleyway below us I saw another five. This couldn't be good! Kisame leapt into a tree, hoping quickly to the ground as he dashed into the forest in hopes of losing them. It seemed a pointless thing to do though as the sound of movement behind us still went on as we moved deeper.

It faded a bit though for a moment, for once making me believe that we really did outrun them. My hopes were crushed though as Kisame suddenly slid to a stop, pausing in a wide open meadow. There were daisies all around us…along with at least twenty ninja. My face was in shock, I could feel my mouth dropping open at that moment as Kisame gained a firm frown on his features. Slowly he set me down onto the ground, holding me close with one arm as his bandage wrapped blade was held at the ready.

"Seiyuuki…stay close." He mumbled under his breath as his other hand slipped from my back.

I looked up to him, still holding the cloak and hat in my arms while I shakily reached up for my own. Taking it off, I looked on as my brother stepped into the surrounded meadow. He had changed a lot in the months I had been gone. His expression was strangely calm considering, and he had a nasty cut on his upper lip that he probably got from Kisame. His eyes though, his eyes were so filled with anger and yet he seemed so upset.

"Seiyuuki…I had hoped that I'd have a chance to save you…Seems you've come up with your own solution. That's fine…Now get over here, we've got to get you cleared. As for you, you blue freak, I wouldn't recommend moving."

For a moment I was confused. Why was Orokashii acting like he was trying to save me. Didn't he know I killed Yurushi? Well, he was a member of the ANBU, it was possible that all the information that was given was that he had died in action. I glanced up at Kisame, who glanced down at me. I couldn't leave, I wasn't so innocent anymore. On top of that, I had mom to keep in mind, the organization was keeping her safe and I knew a lot of their information…they certainly were kinder to me so far then my village had ever been. Kisame didn't look down, even when I glanced up at him.

"Seiyuuki, get over here now!" Orokashii said a bit more angrily.

"I can't…"I reply slowly.

Orokashii looked at Kisame instantly, his temper seeming to shorten as he stood there. I knew he was blaming Kisame for what I said, but honestly I couldn't go back with him. Mother was only safe for as long as I stayed with the organization, safe from her former boss and from any other attacks. Orokashii was probably misinformed on purpose, the village never told me the truth anyway. I was used to hold village secrets before I became a risk. Then they sent out the big guns to try and off me and in the end, I killed my brother and fled with little choice in the matter. When that didn't work they decided that maybe having me not killed was a better idea, if I survived I could tell them what I knew about the organization from the hostage experience. However, I wasn't a hostage anymore.

"Orokashii…" I started out, taking a slow deep breath as I closed my eyes. "It was never…a hostage situation…" I slowly said.

"I'm not an idiot, Seiyuuki. Do you think I'm going to believe that you were a part of this thing the whole time? The crime scene was torn apart, if you were willing you'd have let them in through the front door!"

"Really now?" Kisame said slowly, looking over to me as he seemed to pick up on the trick I was trying to play. "You'd think we'd make it obvious that we were on the same side? She'd never survive if that was the case. Your village would have her killed in an instant…in fact, they tried to off her even when you all still thought she was kidnapped." Kisame added as he let the sword fall, resting it but still holding it strongly. Even he wasn't a fool to completely relax while being surrounded.

Now he looked really confused, but it seemed that Kisame was only just pissing Orokashii off more than ever now. Then again, he did intentionally start a fight over something that probably still had him terribly sore on the topic. Whatever it was I didn't know and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. I couldn't let it fall through though. I needed him to believe me…or else he would have ended up just like Yurushi had.

"Dad gave me no choice!" I say suddenly as I looked at him, bringing his attention back to me. "Mom was in financial stress, didn't do a damn thing to help her after I moved to the village. He treated her like trash and I like a puppet to further his popularity! I was nothing but I toy for the village, a convenient doll that could be killed without a thought just to keep things safe…I couldn't let that happen. I got a better offer, a purpose to follow, a meaning to my short existence…A position of power." I say strongly as I motioned with my arms.

"Even if I wanted to go back…I'm way too deep into this now to ever leave. So just get out of our way and pretend this never happened." I comment, my tone softening as I hoped he'd listen to me.

He was oddly silent for once, though I could see the rage on his face. It seemed that he could only contain it before his top-

"GOD DAMN IT!"

-popped off.

"All this time! All this fucking time…a spy?!" Oh he was mad. I never saw that kind of rage on his face. His eyes were wide and he lost complete control, pacing now as a few of the ninja in the group seemed to look between each other as their obvious leader lost his cool.

"All those times I taught you how to control your chakra?!"

"Had to gain some added skills before the original plan went through." I retorted with a snap.

"Yurushi, what of him?! He was sent on an ANBU mission…It was you wasn't it!?"

"His…death was honorable." I said, my voice shaking a bit on that one.

I gasped a bit in shock as he suddenly shot forward, lunging at me with his hands reaching out as if to choke me. Kisame stopped him though, a rough elbow to the stomach before giving him a strong punch to the face, sending him flying backwards to the lines of his men.

"You're making a mistake!" I yell suddenly, begging inside my head that he just leave…but my lie had just pushed him too far.

Sitting up, he glared at Kisame and me, the rage and anger all over his face and in his body language as two of his ninja knelt down to check on him. He shoved them back as he got up, motioning wildly with his hand at us.

"I WANT THEM DEAD!"

I looked to Kisame quickly, a large grin on his face as he seemed to lose the solemn act instantly. His sword was at the ready to swing and his eyes held the bloodlust from the night we first met. I had hoped to never see that sight ever again…so maybe it was a good thing that I was on his side this time.

"I could use the practice!" Kisame said before he suddenly started to go through several hand signs at lightning speed before letting a hose of water shoot out from his mouth, drenching the meadow in a full foot of water. Most of the ninja's expected him to use it for a major field attack but instead Kisame just created a water clone, it looking just like he was now though this one was defending me.

"Stick close!" He yelled before he charged, going for a small patch of ninja's still in the water as a wave of them from the left came straight at me.

I flowed with the clone, moving as he put up a defense to send them back with a rough toss. He wasn't fighting, he was protecting. Obviously this was just some insurance to make sure I didn't get killed off while the real Kisame was busy in combat. Another wave of them came at me from the right, three women in fact. The clone just deflected their attack before swinging its own sword and fending them off. Kisame was faring quite well. I could already see three dead bodies floating in the water. That strange and yet familiar feeling of bile was hitting me yet again, though this time I didn't just let it get to me. These people were trying to kill me and this had become survival of the fittest…and I wasn't about to be on the short end of that stick.

"Seiyuuki!" I heard Orokashi roar, coming at me with his classic two handed blades, the Kisame close blocking him skillfully as he stood between us. "I'll kill you myself!" He growled as his arms shook, obviously in a struggle with the clone.

I stared at him for the longest time, feeling slightly hurt by the words. It was to be expected though, now that he believed my lie. I had to keep playing along or else he might start second guessing, maybe even snooping into what really happened. He just had to believe that I was willingly taken and apart of this gang for much longer than just a month. Or else I might never be left alone. If he believed that then the village would go back to ANBU attacks, and ANBU missions were secretive. All that would be announced was a death, details would be classified.

"I'd like to see you try." I said coolly, just in time for the real Kisame to come barreling in and give Orokashii a harsh kick into his ribs and sending him flying into one of the trees. There were now nine dead and Kisame was starting to look a little cut up. As for being tired…well, if anything he looked to be more energized than ever before.

"Damn I missed this! I have to say I like how this turned out!" He roared, almost as if he was back to his loud, lusty self…the only thing missing was some lewd comment in my direction and an attempt of a grope. Well, he had been better in the last days of our last trip…or maybe it was a thing that only happened in the trill of the traveling time. If getting him into a fight was the answer to bringing out his chattering side then I would have pushed him into one sooner!

"Less talking, more fighting!" I quickly yell as I notice a pair of male ninja come in in an attempt to could a double attack on him. As if on reflex he turned, hitting one ninja in the stomach with his foot as another was hit on the shoulder with his arm, the man just going instantly down into the water. He didn't even seem to breathe anymore.

Ten down. Ten to go.

For me, this fight was taking way too long. It needed to end fast and I was just too worried that another swift attack from Orokashii would leave my clone messed up and me open. The clone wasn't going to last if it got hit in the right spot. It was then that I remembered something, and was actually slightly grateful for my amazing memory.

"Kisame! Listen to me; I've got a jutsu you'll like!" I said quickly, moving in close into his ear and whispering the hand seals by heart before giving him the name. He grinned his creepy grin before pulling back.

"It seems we're rubbing off on you, Seiyuuki." He commented with a chuckle before going about the seals. Suddenly hands of rock shot up through the water and grabbed onto the nearby ninja, claiming the last of them save for Orokashii who was still stuck in the tree trunk he had hit. A few more hand seals were made, creating enough clones for there to be a one on one with each ninja. The attack was swift, clean cuts to the neck killing them all off effectively and leaving the water stained blood red. I grimaced and gagged shivering as the water soaked into my pants and shoes. With a quick motion Kisame removed his lake, turning to see Orokashii had fallen out of the tree and was now lying on the ground, holding his side. It was only him left now.

"Damn…" He growled, glaring at me so angrily as I stepped forward a bit, just staying out of reach of him. Apparently the kick had done more to him then sending him flying, he was coughing up blood and holding his side rather tightly, probably some ribs had broken and punctured something vital. "You…of all the fucking people…God damn, Seiyuuki."

"You should have never thought any less of me. You were feeding me village secrets for years. Father never showed a care and the other ninja's cared less. In my opinion…you're the ones who let it get this bad." I comment, using the conversation as a distraction for the blood I was standing in. Getting sick in front of him would significantly ruin my evil image at the moment. I could feel my stomach flipping through and I wanted to get this done with…I just didn't want to have to kill him.

"Alright…now what to do with you." Kisame said, as if knowing what I had been thinking about as I looked over my older brother. I looked to him just as he glanced to me, reading my expression easily as I had torn feelings about offing another one of my family.

"So…Should we do him a favor?" He asked slowly, making me raise my eyebrow in question at him. Orokashii looked just as confused as I did. "Yurushi did you a kindness…let you run before making the full attack. Maybe we should do the same for this one…though this time around, it's us giving the favor."

"I don't think letting him know about us is alright though." I quickly said, knowing very well that leader would not want us to be known, which was why I was so conflicted in the first place.

Looking at me with some cocky grin, he approached the injured Orokashii and pinned his arms behind his back, a yell of pain leaving him as things were made worse both inside and outside.

"I have a little memory wipe trick, leader gave it to me for emergencies…It's more as a precaution when killing wasn't an option, and that's pretty rare. Since your other brother is dead…we can at least return that favor we owe through this shit here…Though, his mouth is enough to make me want to reconsider…" Kisame added as he gave a hard clench to my brother's forearms and made him groan.

"How much does it wipe?" I asked slowly.

"Enough…he won't remember anything past the bar, though he'll have a faint memory of the end; nothing to hold us accountable though." Kisame went on, looking at me.

I went silent. How did I end this then? Say something bad? Something to make him think I was evil? Or maybe something to keep is original beliefs correct. Honestly, I just wanted to leave him with something honest, if nothing else.

"I can say something…right?"

"Of course, no promise he'll remember it all though." Kisame answered.

Orokashii tried to give a struggle but it failed as he just hung there in Kisame's hold, glaring daggers at me and held a pained grimace on his face. I stepped up to him as I held my hands at my side. I wanted to touch his cheek but I felt that the response would be negative…and I wanted to keep my fingers today. So instead I opted for speaking.

"Yurushi died willingly. He asked me to kill him you know…He said he wanted an honorable death. Honestly, I wanted him to be killed otherwise…I'm not honorable enough for him. I did it though…He was always so convincing…" I started to say as I started to remember that painful day. I felt tears prickle in my eyes and I quickly blinked them away. I couldn't cry now! It would make this all the more difficult. "Orokashii…Thanks for being my brother…I love you." I finished before glancing at Kisame.

Without hesitation, before Orokashi could even think of anything to say, Kisame did a hand seal before pressing his hand onto his victim's forehead. My brother screamed in more pain, his eyes wide as his memories were wiped clean. It was a short process and before long, Kisame let Orokashi fall to the ground, unconscious and bleeding. For a moment I considered kneeling down with him, just checking to make sure his breath was alright. I stopped myself though, I needed to let go now. If I didn't then I'd never really get over what I had done to my half-brothers, one dead and the other without the memory of this meeting. Kisame seemed to sense the tension I was having and placed a large hand on my shoulder.

"He won't be like that for long. The injuries might keep him down for a bit longer but the memory wipe has a temporary knock out time. We can't afford to stick around too long, least he sees us again." Kisame said seriously, seemingly a bit more content with himself and the situation after having slaughtered twenty people in a meadow.

I looked up at him quietly for a moment before nodding my head. He was right, we needed to move on…and find a place to sleep.

After walking through the night and into the morning, we found a cave. We decided to park it for a few hours in a dark cave we found, mostly covered up by trees. It's allow us to get some sleep without being bothered by the bright light of the dawn that was creeping through. If only that attack hadn't happened at night. At least in day time I would still have a normal sleeping pattern, now this was going to mess with my sleeping pattern and my ability to sleep at all. I couldn't stop myself from thinking of my brother, wondering if he had woken up angry and confused or just brushed it off and returned home. I honestly didn't care what option he picked, as long as he got some care and into safety was all that mattered to me.

"Hungry?" Kisame asked as he took a seat on the other side of the cave, across from me so that we were facing each other. I shook my head a bit and he just helped himself to the food he had packed to eat, it appeared to be a protein bar of some type.

"You know…You made the right choice. It would just be too complicated if he learned the truth." He commented as I looked up at him. "On top of that, that should deter your village from using any more normal ninja…which is probably for the best. The ANBU are more fun to fight anyway."

It was with those words that I remembered that Kisame had returned to his old self, as strong and simple as ever. I had nothing to lose at this point, the man was in a good mood now after all. Sitting up a bit straighter, I looked at him, running a hand through my hair tiredly.

"Kisame…Why have you been so quiet lately…You haven't acted like yourself much." I asked slowly.

"I hate down time…" He said simply. "Leader needs us to gain money sometimes, and profit missions are usually assassinating fat old men who can't fight back. After we got back there was little for me to do, and Itachi was always better at keeping assassinations discreet. So I got left with some intimidation missions before I got back. Never liked them, they bore me. I just love the thrill of the fight and sometimes if there isn't a fight for a long time…some of my usual thrill leaves me." He finished, shrugging his shoulders quickly as he finished off his food.

"I heard you had a meeting with leader though." I said, the blue man just scoffing and rolling his eyes.

"Itachi talked to you huh? Man sees me like this and gets worried that I'll be ill prepared for a fight. Leader was giving me a new mission…He wants me to watch you, guard you. You're a risk right now and I've got little to do until we get that scroll that we need. And considering that little fight we just had…I made the right choice to agree." He said, giving his usual grin.

Fighting…this whole time Kisame only acted this way because he was bored?! I didn't know whether to feel upset or embarrassed…or both. I had let Itachi's words get to my head, that simple. Kisame could never feel romantically inclined to anyone save for his blade. It seemed I was still just a girl who happened to be some eye candy. This time around though he was protecting me so I assumed he wouldn't be making any attempts on me any time soon. I looked back at him, staring at him a moment as he started to settle himself down on his cloak to sleep, it being a makeshift sleeping mat.

"Why did you accept watching me?...It's has to be even more boring than going around assassinating fat old men." I questioned him. His expression simmered a bit as he looked at be, giving a small playful grin before turning away from me and facing the wall.

"I have my reasons…Get some sleep, we still have a lot of distance to cover before we're save for sure." He said, leaving me to sit there and stare at his back.

Damn him…He said it that way on purpose didn't he? Biting my thumbnail, I gave a small sigh before laying down, my bag being my pillow as I left my cloak fully on for warmth. I had no idea what he meant by that, but it was enough to make me wonder if Itachi had been getting hints in other ways. Maybe he just assumed wrong, or maybe Kisame had told him to say that. Considering how they were I wasn't going to be surprised. I guess I wasn't meant to know the answer just yet…Maybe in time…Maybe never…For now though I was tired and I needed some sleep.

Curling up on my side, I closed my eyes and I let sleep take me, dreaming simple dreams as for once a full and complete peace fell over my tired mind.

(A/N:I apologize in advance for any grammar mistakes. My editor was going out of town right after I sent her the chapter. I haven't gotten it back yet so I did the editing myself, I'm impatient like that sometimes. Ha Ha, anyway I'll keep this short, I hope you're enjoying the arrival of the romance to this fanfiction. I'm doing my best to have it still fit the mood without being too out of place or awkward. Please Review and tell me what you think!)


	13. The Denial

The rest of the trip was simple and quiet, Kisame on alert but seemingly in a better mood. I felt so much like an idiot for believing that he might have loved me. He was a cold blooded killer, an assassin and a criminal to all countries that knew of him. He could never love, especially not someone like me. So weak and emotional, we were complete opposites! I wanted to laugh at myself for being so stupid, I couldn't believe that I had let Itachi make me think that Kisame was going to be interested in something like a relationship. Besides, considering who Kisame was, it made so much sense for him to just miss the action, the way he looked in any fight was enough to tell me that he loved the rush of battle and the spilling of blood. Still, several things left me wondering, maybe even holding onto the possibility that maybe there was something to his actions.

He offered a merciful way of removing Orokashii as a problem, instead of just killing him as we had done for Yurushi. He had also showed care, in his strange way, and commented on how her lie was a better choice. More than anything though, was that little comment just before they went to sleep in the cave.

"_I have my reasons…"_

What did that mean?!

I just couldn't get it out of my head. Was Itachi really right, or was there something completely different from either reason? It was hard to tell. With Kisame now in a better mood he was even more difficult to read. A smirk seemed to stick to his face now, though the alert glances remained as we seemed to approach a large and strong waterfall pouring over a steel cliff. As far as I could tell we hadn't been followed at all the rest of the trip. Then again, if we were being followed the ninja weren't just about to let us know that that they were there. Stopping just as Kisame arrived at the bottom of the waterfall, he grinned a bit before turning to me.

"Stay close, the entrance to this one is slightly more deadly." He said with his strange grin, moving close to the stone wall behind the water. I did the same, only going slow because Kisame was doing so as well. As we moved behind the rushing water, an opening came into view, the two of us slipping into the moist cave, him moving along as I looked behind us. These guys really knew how to hide their locations. First under a forest, then under a lake, now it was behind a waterfall! On top of that there wasn't a single trace of anything man made in the area, and the bases were rather nice for being underground. As we walked into the cave he paused a few feet away from some stalagmites, a small pout coming to his face.

"It seems we aren't the only one's here." He states slowly.

"Enemies?" I asked worriedly, considering our last run in.

"No…artists…" He said as he grabbed me suddenly by the collar of my cloak and lifted me over something before setting me down again. As I look down at the floor, I notice a small pad of something on the ground, it looking dark brown like clay.

"It's explosives…don't touch." He said as he stepped over it himself. "Deidara usually makes things prettier…Guess he was trying to be discreet here."

"Deidara's here?" I asked, smiling a little bit at the idea of seeing his calming person. He was the only one in the whole organization that I felt I could be open with and not be looked at strangely.

"Unfortunately…"Kisame mumbled as w continued on our way.

We continued like this to the entrance, stepping over wires and patches of clay before finally coming to a door. This one wasn't so well hidden, but it seemed that the long walk into the dark and all the traps was enough to keep anyone who was snooping from getting inside. As Kisame opened it, the sound of voices fighting seemed to fill the air. It was soft at first, but as we slowly approached the living space I could hear it clearly.

"Sasori-dana! Un! Why can't you just accept that life is a bang!?" Deidara demanded as he glared at his partner.

"Your art is flawed, art is only in eternity." Said a light voice this time around. I was confused for it sounded nothing like the Sasori that I was familiar with.

"Shut up your yapping! Some of us are tired!" Kisame snapped at them lazily stepping into the room as I followed after.

My eyes were first caught by Sasori…and the man standing inside of him. In fact, it appeared as if the man had been inside what I knew as Sasori this whole time. It was a rather pretty red headed man, his skin very pale while his hair was a stunning read. If I didn't know any better I would have said he was much younger than myself, but the expression on his face was rather serious and plain, lacking any emotions other than the annoyance that he seemed to have over the argument. Staring at him, I blinked several times in a confused manner, like I seemed to always do when around these men. The red head only stared back before looking down at the thing that had caught my attention.

"It's a puppet." He plainly stated as if that would answer my question. I didn't go into anything else though and just nodded my head slowly.

"Seiyuuki! Un!" Deidara said as he smiled suddenly, seemingly forgetting the argument he had just been having as he moved over to me. "Why are you here? Un! I didn't think I would get to see you with all that work you had at the northern base."

"I finished it…I was told to work on this place next." I answered him softly, smiling and glad to be in his company.

"I'm escorting her to all of them, so don't distract her…We've got limited time." Kisame warned, glaring at the shorter male as he started to wander over to Sasori. Giving a small nod to the red head out of politeness, he stepped back out into the hall. "If you need me, I'll be getting in contact with leader to inform him of our trip."

With that, Kisame was gone, having left me along with Sasori and Deidara. Looking between the two, I just smiled politely as I let my sack slip from my back and into my arms.

"So what have you been up to?" I asked kindly.

"Nothing much, Un. We've been just doing some scattered missions here and there. Can't do much until we have what we need. Un! That reminds me, what are you doing with Kisame!?" He asked, looking rather confused that I had just entered with the man without being dragged in against my will.

"Um…Well."

"He just told you that." Sasori commented.

Deidara glared back at him for a moment before brushing it off and turning to me again. Grabbing my arm lightly, he pulled me along down the hall somewhere.

"Come, Un! We'll go talk elsewhere!" He declared.

I swore, sometimes Deidara sounded more like a girl then I did. As I was nearly dragged into the kitchen, I gave a tired sigh. Sometimes a small part of me wished that maybe Deidara was the one who kidnapped me, maybe then the whole experience would have been so much easier on me. Then again, I probably didn't, unlike Kisame, who had perverted thoughts, Deidara would have been more eager to just kill me off like any other unlucky witness. As he let go of my arm, I just stood in the generic kitchen setup that all of the bases seemed to have. It was rather boring, but it meant I knew where everything was. Taking a seat at the table I listened to Deidara start to make something to drink, the sound of water filling something hinting at it.

"Alright, Un. What is with Kisame?"

Straight to the point, as always, Deidara never beat around the bush. Looking up at him I just shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't certain anymore, so much was going on in my head and half of it was some placed there by the words that other's had said to me. Taking off my cloak, I just sighed again before speaking finally.

"I don't know anymore. I used to fear him…He scared me a lot. Then suddenly out of nowhere he just started to avoid me…Like I had the plague. It bothered me, I mean, he seemed so determined before and then…Well, he just stopped. He wasn't even somewhat cheery. It was weird. I couldn't even get him to talk to me much. Anyway, we ran into a fight…and then he was instantly okay! It was like he was never quiet in the first place. When I finally got brave enough to ask, he brushed it off…He claimed he got like that when there was too much time between battles…or something." I finished, my nails clicking on the table.

Deidara seemed to be looking hard at me, not meanly but as if trying to read into me. He probably was in truth; no doubt was in my mind that he knew how I had felt. Turning round, he finished the tea and poured it into two cups, coming over and taking a seat of his own, though backwards on the chair so that he could use the back rest for his arms.

"Sounds complicated." He said simply.

"Isn't everything in this place?" I said back as I looked up at him, He just smirked a bit before looking serious again.

"Seiyuuki…" He started out slowly. "Not that I'm saying anything but…Are you sure it's not you who is being a little…well, clingy about this, Un?"

I spat out my tea. Coughing loudly I did my best to control the sound as Deidara stared at me in shock. I guess neither of us expected that to happen. Looking up at him, I knew my face was flushed and angry. I was downright pissed that he would make such a suggestion to me on this. What had Deidara been thinking!?

"Look, think about it! Un! You were frightened to death by this man. You asked me to watch your back! Now you're upset that he wouldn't even look at you or talk to you? Why would you wonder why a man who wanted to rape you wasn't interested anymore unless there was some type of attachment?" He said, shaking his head a bit like he was some guru on relationships.

"That's not it!" I snapped at him, looking down at the mess on my lap before getting up and going over to grab a towel to clean up with. "Kisame…said something…It just caught me off guard! Anyway, it just didn't make sense which is why I asked. I'm observant! And considering he snuck into a woman's bath naked to try and have me I didn't see him as a person to just suddenly change his mind!"

"Why are you getting defensive then, Un?" Deidara said smoothly as he looked into his own tea. I glared at him over my shoulder for a while before he finally looked up at me again. "Seiyuuki…"

"What? Are you saying I have Stockholm syndrome?" I interrupted.

"…It's possible…"

Groaning, I hung my head in my hands, rubbing my eyes for a moment. As much as the words upset me…there was a unfortunate truth in them. I trusted these men, men that have captured me and abused me in ways I'll probably never honestly recover from. Yet here I was, having willingly joined their organization and befriended them as much as someone like me could at this point.

"Don't take it hard, Un…I was the same way." Deidara said simply. "You have to look at this not as Stockholm syndrome but…as your proper family. I mean, at first I hated everyone, but after some time…I learned that maybe their ideas and persons weren't so bad, Un. Now I can't imagine being outside of this organization I feel…like I have purpose."

"Purpose?" I questioned slowly.

"I just caused trouble before…my attacks weren't really based on anything but the desire to see my art. After becoming a part of the organization, my art wasn't just beautiful…It was glorious, there was so much more meaning and depth in it, Un! It was like nothing I had ever seen in my previous works! I never knew that having a purpose could change things so much."

He stood up suddenly, moving over to me and turning me so I was facing him. We shared eye contact for a bit before he just gave a lazy grin of sorts that seemed so common on his face when we were together. His hands stayed on my shoulders as he spoke to me once more.

"Look, I could be wrong…Maybe Kisame is changing in a way…But if he is then you are as well. You've lived this long and gotten this far for some reason, Un. If it isn't working for the organization then what else is there for you to do? Besides…Let's be honest here…You both probably need to get fucked. Un."

Blushing, I reached out to slap him, the blond just pulling back quickly and moving to the kitchen doorway. His smirk was wide now, with a tint of teasing in it to make his point. With that he ran, rather quickly at that since I was absolutely fuming.

"FUCK YOU! DEIDARA!" I screamed after him as I stood in the kitchen, the distant laughter of his response hitting my ears a few minutes later.

Standing in the doorway of the kitchen, I wondered if there really was a point to what he said. What was my purpose here in the organization? I mean, at some point there would be no more information to learn, no more scrolls to read for them. What then? As for the friendliness…It was required. These men had my mother in reach, they knew where she lived and worked! One wrong move and she might end up dead…I could never live with that. Even in that case…I hadn't acted like it was like that, like there was something keeping me in line. I mean, what person in my situation would make a move to slap a missing-nin and bomb expert? This was getting far more complicated than I ever thought it would be, and all over some blue giant of a brute!

I needed a nap…and a shower…mostly a nap though. I needed a moment to clear my head and try to pretend that I hadn't just heard that from one of the few people in this organization that I actually enjoyed speaking with like a friend. If nothing else, then I just needed a moment to myself and to get my stuff organized for the stay. It'd be quite some time before we moved along, after all I'd have to be working this whole time while I was here, I didn't need to be unfocused on what needed to be done. Grabbing by cloak and bag, I headed towards the rooms where the members could sleep, grabbing one and locking the door before tossing my back on the floor and flopping onto the bed.

This was going to be more complicated than I originally thought…

I wasn't certain how long I had slept, but it was enough to throw me off quite a bit. I couldn't even remember when I had gone to lay down. Glancing around, I couldn't find a clock in the room I picked and sighed. Well, It could have been worse, I could discover than I just spent a whole entire day just passed out cold on a cheap mattress instead of reading the information like I should…

Speaking of information, I hadn't found the room at all; I had been too busy wandering around for a place to cool down after my less than pleasing talk with Deidara. Standing up I rubbed my eyes and tugged down my shirt which had come up over one of my boobs half hazardly. Slightly more awake, I went over to the door and noticed a small note on the ground. It wasn't like the letters from the leader, this one seemed more personal and written in rather quick scratch, and obviously it was rushed work. Opening the folded note, I glanced over the message quickly.

_Seiyuuki, Sorry about upsetting you with the talk from before. I know it's a sensitive subject…I only said it because I've been in your place, and it's what I found myself thinking as well. Anyway, just wanted to pass on that I was leaving, more missions to do with Sasori-baka. In other words, don't try looking for me here; I'm long gone by the time you wake up. Anyway, I recommend trying to talk with Kisame again. Ran into him on the way out, man seems plenty social at moment so take a chance and figure whatever it is you need to figure…_

P.S. Be careful though…He was mumbling something about having a drink or two. Don't let him get frisky if you don't want it!

Glancing over the words a little more, I pouted and sighed. At least Deiara was nice enough to say sorry. It helped lighten the fact that the whole message reminded me of what I had tried to forget with my nap in the first place. He made a point though, if Kisame was his normal self, there was no reason that I shouldn't be comfortable asking him the question. Also, if he was tipsy then he might be more honest and open…and not so damn cryptic! Setting the letter on the sheets, I made my move to head out and find my work space.

I had no idea where Kisame would be in this place. Honestly it felt like it was a maze on purpose, even if all the rooms were the same at every base, they were all in different locations depending on the base. I assumed it to be a safety measure just in case someone got in. Having a wrong map in a place like this could give the organization time to eliminate the problem. I took a set of stairs down and found a few storage rooms, followed by my work room. It was twice as big as the last one and twice as packed. I'd be spending a lot of time in this place. As I stepped back out into the hall, I could hear the sounds of fighting…or something like it. I doubted that it was a real fight, this place was locked tight and Kisame was around, he'd kill of anyone who was unlucky enough to be an enemy and run into him.

Noticing another set of stairs, I approached them, seeing a rather strong light source at the bottom. It appeared as if that was another room, probably one for training from the sounds I had heard. I had a feeling I knew who was down there, and I dreaded the idea of wandering in on him practicing. Not because I was worried about getting in trouble…but because I also remembered that he had some drinks, or had at least planned on it. I didn't know how much it took for Kisame to get tipsy but even I knew that someone like him had to have a limit. Hopefully he didn't cross it to where things would get bad again. I'd rather not have that kind of traumatic experience again. Taking a deep breath, I started to descended the stairs, doing my best to make sure I wasn't too quiet or too loud. I didn't want to interrupt him…but I didn't want to surprise him either. I'd be my luck that I died because I accidentally spooked a ninja.

Stopping at the bottom of them, I looked around. This training room was the biggest I have ever seen. It seemed to take up one whole floor, making it wide and open. There were some weapons off to the side, saved for training fights I assumed, along with several rows of dummies to punch and kick. On the far end of the room, that was where Kisame was, punching roughly at a fake dummy. He seemed in a better mood, he was smiling to himself as he made a few more strikes on his target. I had no idea just from his movements if he was drunk or not, after all he seemed to be moving just fine. Wandering over to him, I take my time, looking around the room and observing it. It seemed that this was where a lot of heavy training happened. Stopping just short of the dummies, I looked back to Kisame. He wasn't fighting the dummy anymore; instead he was wiping his face dry with a towel. He must have been done for the day…or night. I really needed to get a clock into my room; this would be a major problem otherwise. Clearing my throat then, I waited for him to look my way. He turned a looked at me lazily, he probably knew I had been there the whole time.

"Yeah?" He asked, standing there as he looked at me with a raised eyebrow. His face wasn't blank like last time, it was curious now though obviously confused as to why I was around him. After all, he was just watching me.

I found myself hesitating to speak. How could I ask him what I needed to ask him without sounding paranoid and crazy? This was far more complicated than I ever wanted it to be.

"Um…Well, I was just wondering what…you were up to." I said, catching myself before I sounded weird. I was just about to ask him the question out of nowhere. "I mean…I was just looking for my work space, which I found, and I heard you down here…Just figured I see what this was."

"I'm training." He said bluntly, wandering over to something on the floor before standing up with a small sake cup, a bottle on the floor nearby. So he had been drinking! He seemed as sober as ever!

"I know…I mean what kind of training…I've never seen it before so…I'm curious."

Okay, the look that he made was enough for me to take a small step back. He looked surprised, like he thought that something was wrong with me. I swore that he was about to come over and shake me with the way his hands twitched, instead one just moved up to scratch his head.

"You've never seen training before?" He asked slowly.

"Nope…"

"But you lived in a ninja village."

"I never got out much."

"You know techniques!"

"Because I could memorize them and save them without them getting into other people's hands. Also, if the ninja library was ever compromised then there would still be me, there to restock it just as it was before." I explained.

It was then that I saw something I never thought I would see on Kisame's face…pity. He pitied me! Of all the people in the organization, Kisame had turned a gaze of pity onto me as he stood in front of me, an empty sake cup in one hand and a towel hanging off his shoulders.

"Why haven't you ever seen it?" He asked a bit more curiously, though the pity was still there in his eyes.

"My father never wanted me to be a ninja…he feared that I'd be too powerful with my memory abilities. A ninja who could never forget…sounds more dangerous than anything else out there, doesn't it?" I said, feeling rather soft spoken with the way he looked down at me.

I had never seen anything wrong with not knowing, it had just ended up that way. That was how I was raised, to never approach a training field, to never read at the ninja school. I wasn't even allowed to be in the same room as Orokashii or Yurushi when they were working on homework for class. Was it really that much of a shock? I was a civilian; I mean certainly they had the same way of being raised right? Kisame didn't talk; he just stood there looking down as if he was expecting something from me. What, did he think I was going to start laughing at him and say I lied? Looking over to the dummies, I approached one and touched it.

"So what are you doing with these?"

"Taijutsu training, physical strength is important to being a ninja, especially someone like me who carries a large weapon." He said; following me with his gaze as he went on to finally answer my question.

"Ah, so you do it often then?" I said as I turned to look back at him.

"Yes, every day that I can. Sometimes missions can cause a small pause in it though." He said before looking away from me and reaching for the bottle that he had rested on the ground. I could head him pouring himself another drink. "So then…what about that chakra training?" He asked suddenly.

"What?" I responded, not really getting what he was trying to ask.

"Your brother said he trained you…"

"Oh, well, it was more showing me things when he had the time. I haven't been doing anything at all for a rather long time so I probably back tracked a lot…not that I had gotten anywhere with him." I explained as he started to wander over to me.

Kisame didn't say anything for a while; it was as if he was observing me as I looked up at him. Drinking his cup of sake in one gulp, he looked back down at me as if he had just come up with a great idea. A smile was on his lips as he seemed to now have a determined look in his eye suddenly.

"Alright then, I'll train you."

Okay, apparently Kisame was drunk. He wanted to train me?! He was going insane! There was no way that I'd be able to survive training with him, especially with what I had seen of him in a fight. I'd die, the end. Shaking my head quickly I wave my hands in front of myself as I backed up several feet from him.

"No! You'd kill me! There is no way that I'd be able to keep up with you, I couldn't keep up with my brother and look what you did to him. A few good kicks and punches and he could barely walk or fight back! No! Absolutely not!"

"Would you rather that I go to leader and tell him to give you an order to train?" He threatened with a smirk, his sharp teeth showing as I looked up at him with a large pout.

"You're a dick." I snapped, knowing that if he did that then I'd have to listen to him. "I've got enough on my plate reading all the documents, I don't have the time to go into training as well! Besides, leader knows that, he probably wouldn't want anything to distract me."

It was a possibility, leader would know better than to try and get me into training. I had too much to read and the organization was already pressed for time to get the scroll that had been relocated. If I didn't get all the data memorized then…well…Leader made it sound so important to memorize it!

"We'll see about that…" Kisame said with a chuckle as he turned from me. "You shouldn't get so worried about it. I see a lot of myself in you." He said before jogging to the stairs.

He paused there a moment, holding up the bottle and grinning mischievously while giving it a few shakes.

"Better get some rest…I'm a brutal teacher." With that he gave his crackling laugh of sorts before going up the steps, leaving me to stand there with what seemed to be a worse situation than I started with.

Not only did I still not know what he meant by what he said, but now there was more to it as he apparently saw himself in me. Along with that, he now wanted to train me to fight! What was going through this damn man's head!? Sighing loudly I put my head in my hands, groaning loudly and angrily for a moment before looking up at the ceiling.

"You suck, God!" I snapped, stomping off back upstairs to get to work…Maybe I'd be able to fall asleep on the papers and he'd leave me alone…

It was worth a shot at least.

(A/N: Alright everyone, I know you've been waiting a few days for this bad boy. My editor and myself were busy and we've just gotten her down right now. Anyway, just a small update. I'm working on the plots for the next chapter as I write, though i'll be out of town and unable to write or post over this weekend. I'll hopefully be able to get something to you next week though if I can get some typing and plotting in before I leave. Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did!)


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